The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges Senators to oppose Congressional efforts to undermine democracy in our Nation’s Capital by voting “NO” on H.J. Res. 26, which would deny self-governance to Washington D.C. The ACLU will score this vote.
Over 700,000 people living in our Nation’s capital are locked out of American democracy and denied the full rights of representative government. Despite D.C.’s fully functioning government, local decisions on policies that impact D.C. residents’ rights, liberties, health, and welfare are routinely threatened by Congress—a body that neither represents their interests, nor is politically accountable for its decisions regarding the District—because of D.C.’s lack of voting representation in Congress. H.J. Res. 26 undermines the democratic process by stopping D.C.’s Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), which was duly-passed by Washington D.C.’s city council, from having the force of law it would have if adopted by one of our fifty states.