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District of Columbia home rule is a term encompassing the controversy regarding the lack of an intrinsic right for citizens of the District of Columbia (i.e., the city of Washington, D.C.) to govern their local affairs. The U.S. Constitution specifically gives jurisdiction over the capital city (yet to be built when the Constitution was ratified) to the United States Congress in "all cases whatsoever". This arrangement, unique in the United States, is due to the fact that the District is neither a state, nor part of a state. At certain times, and presently since 1973, Congress has provided for D.C. government to be carried out primarily by locally elected officials. However, Congressional oversight of this local government still exists at a much higher level than would be allowed for any part of a state. Furthermore, this arrangement exists at the pleasure of Congress, and could theoretically be revoked at any time. ...
Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia. ...
Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme...
In law, jurisdiction (from the Latin jus, juris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak) is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area...
Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate Dick Cheney, R, since January 20, 2001 Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R, since January 6, 1999 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of January 4, 2005 elections) Democratic Party Republican Party...
D.C. Statehood is the name of a political campaign intended to grant the District of Columbia the full privileges of a U.S. state, including full voting rights in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. ...
Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries • Politics Portal A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities referred to...
A separate yet related controversy regards the lack of voting representation for D.C. residents in Congress. For more on this, see District of Columbia voting rights. District of Columbia voting rights is a term encompassing the controversy regarding the lack of voting representation for citizens of the District of Columbia (i. ...
Congressional oversight The District is, according to the United States Constitution, under the jurisdiction of the United States Congress in "all cases whatsoever" (Article I, Section 8, Clause 17). Specifically, the House and Senate each had standing committees charged with the oversight of the District, known as the District committees, the United States House of Representatives Committee on the District of Columbia and United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ...
Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate Dick Cheney, R, since January 20, 2001 Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R, since January 6, 1999 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of January 4, 2005 elections) Democratic Party Republican Party...
A standing committee is a subunit of a political or deliberative body established in a permanent fashion to aid the parent assembly in accomplishing its duties. ...
The United States Senate Committee on the District of Columbia was one of the first standing committees created in the United States Senate, in 1816. ...
The District committees were long regarded as the least-powerful of all of the Congressional standing committees; there was little interest from constituents "back home" as to whether the District was well-governed or not, and little ability to use a seat on these committees to engage in projects of direct benefit to the senators' or representatives' constituents. This often made the District committees into "dumping grounds" for congressmen judged to be unworthy of major assignments or unpopular with their peers or even for violators of party discipline. The most notorious such case may be the placement of Senator Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi on the Senate District Committee in the 1930s and 1940s, apparently as the place deemed that he could do the least harm. Bilbo's virulent racism and abrasive manner had made him something of a Senate pariah; however inflicting someone of his nature on the District and its increasingly-black population was of course somewhat disastrous for District residents. Subsequent reorganizations of the committee system resulted in the functions of the District committees being assumed by other committees. Party discipline is the ability of a political party to get its members to support the policies of the party leadership. ...
Theodore Bilbo Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (October 18, 1877–August 21, 1947) was an American politician. ...
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This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ...
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An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...
Devolution of authority Constitutionally, the District remains under the jurisdiction of Congress. However, at various times in its history, Congress has chosen to devolve some of its authority to District residents. For part of this time, the District was formally organized as a United States territory, the Territory of the District of Columbia. The results have been mixed, at best; in the 19th century the District government built a canal where the National Mall now is; in fact the bricks used to build the "Castle" building of the Smithsonian Institution were floated down this canal. The District government was later to abandon this expensive project and left the canal to become something of an open sewer; this was one of the reasons cited for abolishing District government at the time and returning to direct Congressional rule. For the heavy metal band, see Devolved (band) Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ...
United States territory is any extent of region under the jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Channel (geography). ...
Facing east across the Mall with ones back towards the Lincoln Memorial. ...
The Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle on the National Mall serves as the Institutions headquarters. ...
Image of a sewer pipe // Function Sewers transport wastewater from buildings to treatment facilities. ...
Beginning in the 1960s, steps were taken to grant District residents increased political rights. The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution provided a right to vote in Presidential elections starting in 1964. In 1971 the District received a non-voting delegate to Congress, much like a territory. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...
(Redirected from 23rd Amendment) The Twenty-third Amendment may refer to the: Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution - grants electors to the District of Columbia. ...
1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ...
1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...
A Delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory or from the District of Columbia. ...
In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, giving D.C. voters the right to elect a mayor and council. This move resulted in the election of Walter Washington as mayor and the formation of the Council of the District of Columbia. While the move was widely celebrated as making government more responsive to the needs of residents, all legislation passed by the D.C. government remains subject to the approval of Congress. 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is an act of theU.S. Congress passed in 1973. ...
Walter Washington Walter Edward Washington, (April 15, 1915 – October 27, 2003), was the first elected mayor (and first black mayor) of the District of Columbia, (Washington, D.C.). From 1975 until 1979 he served as mayor in that capacity. ...
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of Washington, D.C.. As such, it is analogous to the city councils of other cities in the United States, but in some manners it is also analogous to state legislatures. ...
Increased congressional oversight The tenure of Marion Barry as D.C. mayor during the 1980s and 1990s was marked by increased strain between the local and federal governments, as well as an increase in the exercise of congressional authority over the District. Barry was elected in 1979 as a reformer, and was well respected for his history as a civil rights worker. However, his tenure was criticized for the growth of government payrolls, careless administration of government programs, poor municipal services and, as in many other cities at the time, a rising crime rate and deteriorating infrastructure. The city's financial problems were exacerbated by limitations on its taxing authority and by obligations, such as unfunded pension costs inherited from the days of Federal government administration and Medicaid and other costs normally borne by state governments. The prospect of fiscal crisis for the city led the Federal government to intervene, in 1995, with the appointment of a financial control board. The board took charge of most city spending, and legislation relieved the city of its inherited pension obligations, as well as Medicare costs. In 2001, after four consecutive balanced budgets and with a new mayor, the locally elected D.C. government regained budgetary control. Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. ...
This page refers to the year 1979. ...
The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all citizens of United States. ...
One issue that is likely to become contentious between the District and Congress in the near future is guns. In 1976, the District's home rule government passed the most severe gun restrictions in the United States. Possession of handguns is prohibited to ordinary citizens, and the District requires registration of long guns. This is considered by gun-rights advocates to violate the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. A substantial number of gun-rights advocates within the current Republican party majority in Congress are proposing to end the District's handgun ban and gun registration system by federal law. Gun politics in the United States is a contentious topic in the United States. ...
1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...
A long gun is a firearm with an extended barrel, usually designed to be fired braced against the shoulder. ...
Amendment II (the Second Amendment) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, declares the necessity for a well regulated militia, and prohibits infringement of the right of the people to keep and bear arms. ...
GOP redirects here. ...
Proposals for Change
Limiting Congress' oversight power Proposals have been made for Congress, while maintaining the current oversight over the District, to significantly restrain the degree of oversight, perhaps requiring a supermajority vote of both houses to overturn local laws passed by locally-elected officials. This proposed modification of the current system could be accomplished through simple legislation, although a constitutional amendment would preclude the changes from being withdrawn by a future Congress. A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority in order to have effect. ...
Advocates claim that this approach would largely preserve for D.C. governance the fundamental democratic principle that "just power derives from the consent of the governed", while still allowing the national legislature to exercise the last word in cases where the overriding national interest requires, as defined by a supermajority "national consensus" vote in both Houses.
Statehood or Retrocession Either the granting of statehood to the District or its full retrocession to Maryland would strip Congress of any authority to regulate local affairs that it does not exercise in the rest of the United States. This has been proposed from time to time, but has never been enacted. D.C. Statehood is the name of a political campaign intended to grant the District of Columbia the full privileges of a U.S. state, including full voting rights in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. ...
Retrocession, when referring to the District of Columbia, means the return of parts of the District of Columbia to the states from which territory was ceded to create the national capital of the United States. ...
See also Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia. ...
District of Columbia voting rights is a term encompassing the controversy regarding the lack of voting representation for citizens of the District of Columbia (i. ...
D.C. Statehood is the name of a political campaign intended to grant the District of Columbia the full privileges of a U.S. state, including full voting rights in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. ...
Retrocession, when referring to the District of Columbia, means the return of parts of the District of Columbia to the states from which territory was ceded to create the national capital of the United States. ...
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