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April 25, 2007: The District of Colombia House Voting Rights Act |
The District of Colombia House Voting Rights Act
For years, the House has debated the process of granting the citizens of Washington, D.C. a vote in Congress. For over 200 years, these Americans have paid federal taxes without representation. In a bipartisan effort, the House developed a plan to create two additional voting congressional seats- presumably Republican and Democratic -- for both Utah and Washington, D.C.
In order to prevent any political maneuvers, while adhering to the Pay-as-You-Go or Paygo rules, the House considered two pieces of legislation. The first, H.R. 1905 expanded the voting body by two seats. The second funded these additional voting seats by slightly increases the number of tax payments for persons with incomes of more than $5 million; however, H.R. 1906 does not increase the amount of taxes paid. If either bill failed, both bills would fail. Fortunately, both H.R. 1905 and H.R. 1906 passed the House on Thursday, April 19th with bipartisan support.
The Voter Protection Act
H.R. 1677, the Voter Protection Act has three major components to simplify and clarify taxes for the average American. This bipartisan legislation protects taxpayers from misleading websites and identity theft. It also prohibits the IRS from providing certain information to businesses that may engage in predatory lending based on tax refunds. Finally, the Voter Protection Act expands outreach efforts to Americans who are eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC). H.R. 1677 passed the House by a vote of 407-7 on April 17th.
Sincerely,
John Lewis
Member of Congress |
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