It’s Time to Let Washington Be Heard!

For more information contact: James Jones, Communications Director
202.462.6000 x12 office / 202.557.4864 mobile / jjones@dcvote.org

April 15, 2004

Washington, DC – As thousands of Americans complete their federal income tax forms in time to meet the April 15th deadline, residents of Washington, DC, feel an extra burden on this day.

“The people of Washington, DC, will pay over three billion dollars in federal taxes this year, and they will continue to be denied votes in the House and Senate on how that money is spent,” said Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of DC Vote. “District residents fulfill their obligations of military service and paying federal income taxes like other Americans who have votes in Congress. It’s time that Congress takes action to give full voting representation in the House and Senate to the residents of Washington, DC. It’s time for Congress to fulfill the promise of American democracy in our nation’s capital.”

DC Vote, an Uncle Sam on stilts, and DC Vote’s supporters will be educating people about DC’s denial of equal rights on April 15th. One educational handout features several of DC’s elected officials wearing gags across their mouths. The gags represent the fact that, while District residents are permitted to elect a local government, Congress doesn’t have to listen to them or to the people of DC when making decisions about things that affect the people living in the nation’s capital. Washington, DC, must submit its budget to Congress for approval every year – an action that most Americans living in the states would find unacceptable.

Language on the handout reads:

We fight for America in times of war.
We serve on juries to uphold American freedom.
We pay our federal taxes like all Americans.
Yet, without full voting representation in the U.S. Congress, the voices of Washington are silenced.
Let Washington Be Heard!

For more information and to see a copy of the "Let Washington Be Heard" poster, visit www.dcvote.org.

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