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Reid: D.C. Voting Rights Bill Will Ensure Long-Overdue Equal Representation for 600,000 Americans
Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate before voting for the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, which the Senate then passed. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
“We have had a good debate on this bill this week, and I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their cooperation in moving this bill forward.
“The Senate today is moving to right a centuries-old wrong. It is an inexcusable and indefensible injustice that nearly 600,000 residents of theDistrict of Columbiado not enjoy a voice in Congress like all other American citizens. America is the only democracy in the world that denies the citizens of its capital city the right to voting representation in its national legislature…