RE: Norton kills Voting Rights bill
Anne Anderson
on the Voting Rights Bill.
Best, Anne
> [Original Message]
> From: A. Loikow <alo...@verizon.net>
> To: <Undisclosed recipients:>
> Date: 6/9/2009 5:48:15 PM
> Subject: Norton kills Voting Rights bill
>
> BREAKING: Norton Kills Voting Rights Bill
> Posted by Mike DeBonis on Jun. 9, 2009, at 12:58 pm
> Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has killed the D.C. House Voting Rights Act.
> This morning, she sent this statement to various legislators, staff,
> and advocates involved in the voting rights push:
> As you are aware, I have been working to remove the Ensign gun
> amendment from the DC voting rights bill with leaders in the House and
> Senate, the Administration, and my colleagues. Majority Leader Hoyer
> has been trying unsuccessfully to get the votes for a clean bill
> before the thick of the upcoming appropriations period and heavy
> legislation headed for the floor. The Majority Leader and I met on
> Friday afternoon to discuss our bill, a draft of a compromise gun
> amendment from his office, and other options for moving the voting
> rights bill to the House floor now.
> We sent a memo summarizing the content of the meeting with the
> Majority Leader and of the compromise amendment and shared the memo
> before a conference call on Sunday with the bill’s major advocates
> whom we could reach, including the DC vote coalition. The conference
> call discussed in detail all of the options available to us at this
> time, none of which would result in the elimination of the Ensign
> amendment, as well as the split in opinion in the city about attaching
> a bill that carries a danger to public safety and elimination of the
> city’s authority over gun legislation. All agreed that there were good
> reasons to wait for now. Please understand that we are holding the
> bill for now, not giving up on voting rights. I would be happy to
> discuss details with you personally.
> On Monday evening, I discussed this matter with the Majority Leader.
> Majority Leader Hoyer indicated he will say at=2 0his regular Tuesday
> press conference that there is not a consensus to move forward with
> the bill at this time. Concerning the future of the bill, he will make
> clear that the bill continues to be important because the 600,000
> American citizens in the District deserve the vote.
>
> _____________________
>
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/06/09/breaking-norton
-kills-voting-rights-bill/
> BREAKING: Norton Kills Voting Rights Bill
> Posted by Mike DeBonis on Jun. 9, 2009, at 12:58 pm
>
> Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has killed the D.C. House Voting Rights Act.
>
> The decision to hold off on current legislation due to the threat of
> gun-related amendments follows a conference call on Sunday with
> various advocates and local politicos. A compromise gun legislation
> proposed by the office of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was reviewed.
>
> The consensus was not to move forward with the compromise. “Please
> understand that we are holding the bill for now, not giving up on
> voting rights,” Norton wrote.
>
> [UPDATES BELOW, with statements from Ilir Zherka of D.C. Vote, Council
> Chairman Vincent Gray, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty]
>
> Here is the full statement she sent this morning to various
> legislators, staff, and advocates involved in the voting rights push:
>
> TO: Sen. Lieberman
> Sen. Hatch
> Rep. Conyers
> Rep. Lee
> Mayor Fenty
> Chairman Gray
> Ilir
> Wade
> Nancy
>
> From: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
>
> As you are aware, I have been working to remove the Ensign gun
> amendment from the DC voting rights bill with leaders in the House and
> Senate, the Administration, and my colleagues. Majority Leader Hoyer
> has been trying unsuccessfully to get the votes for a clean bill
> before the thick of the upcoming appropriations period and heavy
> legislation headed for the floor. The Majority Leader and I met on
> Friday afternoon to discuss our bill, a draft of a compromise gun
> amendment from his office, and other options for moving the voting
> rights bill to the House floor now.
>
> We sent a memo summarizing the content of the meeting with the
> Majority Leader and of the compromise amendment and shared the memo
> before a conference call on Sunday with the bill’s major advocates
> whom we could reach, including the DC vote coalition. The conference
> call discussed in detail all of the options available to us at this
> time, none of which would result in the elimination of the Ensign
> amendment, as well as the split in opinion in the city about attaching
> a bill that carries a danger to public safety and elimination of the
> city’s authority over gun legislation. All agreed that there were good
> reasons to wait for now. Please understand that we are holding the
> bill for now, not giving up on voting rights. I would be happy to
> discuss details with you personally.
>
> On Monday evening, I discussed this matter with the Majority Leader.
> Majority Leader Hoyer indicated he will say at his regular Tuesday
> press conference that there is not a consensus to move forward with
> the bill at this time. Concerning the future of the bill, he will make
> clear that the bill continues to be important because the 600,000
> American citizens in the District deserve the vote.
>
> Hoyer indeed made such remarks today.
>
> UPDATE, 1:55 P.M.: A statement from D.C. Vote:
>
> “The fight is far from over,” said Ilir Zherka, DC Vote Executive
> Director. “We will do everything in our power to pass the DC Voting
> Rights Act in this Congress. But, it’s obvious that we’ll also need to
> take our battle on guns to the next level. Unfortunately we know that
> the NRA will continue to find a vehicle for the Ensign amendment and
> we will fight this at every step.”…”We are so grateful for Majority
> Leader Hoyer’s commitment to this issue,” Zherka added. “We are
> confident that with the continued support of the House Leadership,
> that the DC Voting Rights Act will pass in the 111th Congress.”
>
> Zherka adds in an interview with LL that the enduring question was,
> “were pro-gun Democrats willing to support the DCVRA without the
> Ensign amendment.” The answer, apparently, was no, and Zherka and
> allies found themselves unwilling to swallow the poison pill, which he
> deems “outrageous and a infringement on D.C.’s local democracy.”
>
> Zherka declined to discuss the Sunday conference call, though he
> denies ever reviewing any gun compromise from Hoyer’s office.
>
> As far as a timeline for further movement, Zherka says, “I’m not that
> concerned about projecting a timeline. We’re going to get it through
> if we can….I don’t know if it’s going to be the fall, the winter, next
> year. We’ve never been too preoccupied with a official deadline.”
>
> UPDATE, 3:50 P.M.: D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, in an
> interview, reports he spoke with Norton and Hoyer over the weekend,
> where he reiterated his opposition to accepting any gun amendment. “I
> hate to be glib,” he says, “but it was as if we had to give up
> democracy to get democracy.”
>
> Particularly troubling, Gray notes, is the prospect of accepting gun
> language then having the voting-rights provision struck down under a
> constitutional challenge.
>
> Disappointment, however, is the word for Gray, given the rapid turn of
> events since the measure passed the Senate in February. “I think if
> you had said six months ago we’d be having anything besides a
> celebration today,” he said, “I wouldn’t have believed you.”
>
> UPDATE, 3:55 P.M.: Here’s a statement from Mayor Adrian M. Fenty: “On
> behalf of the residents of the District of Columbia, I applaud the
> leadership and great effort put forth by House Majority Leader Steny
> Hoyer, District Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton and other
> Congressional leaders for their work to secure full voting
> representation for District residents. Going forward, I remain
> committed to working with our Congressional leaders, as well as
> members of the Council of the District of Columbia, to secure full
> voting representation as fast as humanly possible.”