Sitting quietly on some desk somewhere are H. It is quite likely that you have never heard of either of these bills, through no fault of your own. Every year, literally hundreds of bills are proposed and sent off to a committee or subcommittee, never to be seen or heard from again. For example, you probably have little knowledge of House Concurrent Resolution 2 from the 107th congress. It was designed to "express the sense of the Congress that a postage stamp should be issued in honor of the United States Masters Swimming program." And who could forget House Concurrent Resolution 191 from that same congress, whose purpose was to "express the sense of the Congress regarding the importance of parents and children eating dinner together as a family.".
We have become accustomed to Congress proposing varied useless legislation, only to see these would-be laws stall in a committee. It is my purpose today to try to ensure that H.R. 1285 and S. 617 do not become the next pieces of Amelia Earhart legislation, sent off on a journey to some committee never to be seen or heard from again.
At this point, you are probably asking yourself "what is this guy babbling about?" I am babbling about the "No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003." Before you maneuver your mouse to that attractive "X" button in the upper-right-hand corner of your screen, hear me out.
The No Taxation Without Representation Act is not some libertarian orgy of tax-repealing legislation full of "hate my government" angst that its name might suggest. In fact, it is far from that. The act is designed to grant the citizens of Washington, DC voting representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Since the passage of the Organic Act of 1801, the District of Columbia has not had a voting representative in Congress. Despite this fact, The District is treated as a state, legislated as a state, and taxed as a state for all intents and purposes in more than 500 pieces of federal legislation, and its residents pay federal income taxes.
