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NATIONAL
URBAN LEAGUE "OUTRAGED" OVER U.S. SENATE FILIBUSTER OF VOTING
RIGHTS ACT FOR WASHINGTON, DC: 18/9/2007
(MaximsNews.com, U.N.)
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UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 1 September 2007 –
National
Urban League President
Marc H. Morial today expressed outrage over the U.S. Senate's failure to stop a
filibuster of the proposed D.C. House Voting Rights Act (S.1257), which gives
the District of Columbia one voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
By a
slim three-vote margin, the Senate failed to overcome a filibuster by a minority
of senators that kept the measure from proceeding to a vote on the floor, a
major setback in a decades-long fight to secure congressional representation for
the nation's capital.
This is
the first filibuster of a voting rights bill since the era of segregation.
"District
of Columbia residents pay taxes, serve on juries and fight and die in our
nation's wars," Morial said. "Yet, despite this, they have had their
hopes of gaining congressional representation stalled so close to
the finish line. Residents of our nation's capital deserve their constitutional
right to representation now, something that has been long enjoyed by all
Americans residing outside D.C. Without a full voice in Congress, they are
merely second-class citizens."
Crafted
as a compromise, the legislation would add two seats in the U.S.House - one for
D.C. and the other for Utah, the next state expected to get a new seat. It
enjoyed support from both sides of the aisle and easily passed through the U.S.
House last April.
"It
is shameful that in this day and age, a small group of United States Senators
would filibuster a voting rights bill," Morial said. "It is ironic and
sad that DC residents, once again, had their rights denied by a body in which
they are not represented."
"I
urge the Senate to stop blocking Americans' right to vote and revisit this issue
during this session of Congress. D.C. residents deserve voting rights now!"
National
Urban League (www.nul.org)
Established in 1910, The Urban League is the nation's oldest and largest
community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the
economic and social mainstream. Today, the National Urban League, headquartered
in New York City, spearheads the non-partisan efforts of its local affiliates.
There are over 100 local affiliates of the National Urban League located in 35
states and the District of Columbia providing direct services to more than 2
million people nationwide through programs, advocacy and research.
CONTACT: Ricky
Clemons/212-558-5371, National Urban League, rclemons@nul.org
or Stephanie Jones/202-998-1604, National
Urban League Policy Institute, sjones@nul.org
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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