Congressional Digest

Excerpt

(Excerpted from Congressional Digest, May 2007)
The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1789, created a permanent
home for the new national government and gave Congress
exclusive power over its existence. But the Constitution also provided that only citizens of
States should have voting representation in the national legislature.
How to reconcile these two provisions — the District’s
unique political status and Congress’s broad control over the
rights and privileges of its citizens — has been an ongoing
subject of debate, as Washington, D.C., residents for two
centuries have sought voting repre…