Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “no” when H.R. 192 is expected to be brought to the floor later today. Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in its Democracy Scorecard, which is sent to its 1.5 million members and state and national press.

The proposed legislation is the latest effort by Congress to interfere in the lives and self-government of the residents of Washington, DC, who have been denied equal representation in Congress since the city was founded in 1790. The letter sent to every Member of the House, reminds lawmakers that the bill would disrupt the District’s 2024 primary elections by changing election guidelines and eligibility in the middle of an election that is already underway.

“Every American deserves an equal voice in our government and a say in how their tax dollars are spent – and that most definitely applies to the residents of Washington DC,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, President and CEO of Common Cause. “It is unconscionable that Congress continues to deny those living in the nation’s capital the right to equal representation and continues to meddle in their affairs. Congress should instead be taking up and passing the Washington, D.C. Admission Act to grant Washingtonians the full representation and voice in Congress that they deserve.”

The letter notes that the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51) is supported by more than 200 House Members and has twice passed the House of Representatives in recent years.

A majority of the city’s nearly 700,000 residents are Black and Brown, and interference in the District’s decision-making, the letter reminds Members, has frequently had racial overtones.

Further, Washington, DC, residents pay the highest per-capita federal income taxes in the country, and the almost 700,000 who live there pay more in total federal income tax than residents of 22 other states yet have no say in how the federal government spends those tax dollars. The letter also points to the fact that Washingtonians have fought, and died, in every one of our nation’s wars, yet those veterans are denied the freedoms for which they fought.

To read the full letter, click here.