78-14-A1
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District of Columbia[edit]
Transcript[edit]In the process prescribed for amending our Constitution, the Congress has passed and sent to the legislatures of the 50 states for ratification an amendment to give the District of Columbia representation equal to a state in the U.S. Congress. A potent lobby pushed this through the Congress using high-flown phrases such as "taxation without representation", "end the second class citizenship of those who dwell in the district" and so on ad nauseum. We have a nation unique in all the world. It is a federation of sovereign states and that is probably our greatest guarantee against tyranny by a centralized national government. Those Founding Fathers, whose likes the world hasn't seen since, thought of just about everything. They said,--QUOTE-- "if federalism is to work how can any of the sovereign states be the locale of the national capitol without opening the door to possible conflicts of interest?" So the District of Columbia was established on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia. To say that residents of the District, who vote for city officials and for President and Vice President, are without representation is ridiculous. The District is represented by the entire Congress of the United States. Washington is a one industry city and that industry is the federal government. It is a company town--look at the population figures for 1976. Some 223,900 employees in the District worked for the federal government; 149,200 for industries servicing government; and only 16,100 were employed in manufacturing. The Congress has been most generous to the district in handing out federal grants. It is the most affluent city in America. And the district is a city -- a 70 square mile enclave -- with a population smaller than 11 other cities. But if 38 state legislatures ratify this latest congressional foolishness, Washington will be the only city to have two United States senators and at least one representative in the house. They'll have no stake in agricultural problems. Their constituents' demands will be for more government growth and for the perquisites that go with government employment. And those two new senators are the reason for the lobbying effort. If they aren't and if the promoters of this idea sincerely mean they only want representation for the citizens of the District, there is a very simple answer and an established precedent: cede back to Maryland the residential portion of the city, just as Alexandria was returned to Virginia in the last century. Then, they'll be represented by Maryland's two senators and they can vote in Maryland's senatorial elections. One thing's certain, the American people should be contacting their state legislators and telling than to vote no on ratification. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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