DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton hosted a press conference today on Capitol Hill in defense of her city. Speaking out against several policy riders that have been passed or threatened by conservatives in Congress, Delegate Norton, DC Mayor Vincent Gray, DC Vote, and members of the civil rights community voiced their support for autonomy and the right to self-government for the people of the District of Columbia.

“The people of Washington, DC are tired of being taken advantage of,” said Leslie Watson Malachi, director of African American Ministers in Action, a program of People For the American Way. “Why are Americans living in our nation’s capital, the city that should embody the spirit of freedom and self-government, still denied this most fundamental right? These cynical social policies, which affect the everyday lives of Washingtonians in so many ways, are nothing more than a congressional exploitation of people without a vote that counts. It’s time to end the institutional repression of Washingtonians, and in the meantime, it’s time for Congress to stop playing political games with the lives of those who make their home in our nation’s capital.”

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