Congress will not consider legislation to give the District of Columbia voting rights this year because the bill was clogged with “issues” such as gun ownership, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced this morning.
It’s a breakdown of an issue critical to DC’s 600,000 citizens in a Democratic-controlled Congress that seemed close to passing a compromise measure. A floor vote had been scheduled for this week.
“The price was too high,” Hoyer said in his weekly briefing with reporters.
Hoyer said “it is a blight” on democracy that Delegate Eleanor Homes Norton (D) does not have a vote.
“That bill should be unfettered,” Hoyer said.
Hoyer (D-MD) said he was “profoundly disappointed” there will be no vote.
He said the bill should “solely” be about the fact that “citizens have the fundamental right to be represented … with not just a voice but a vote.”
