Issue Summary:  Congress exercises legislative and fiscal oversight over local Washington, D.C., a city of 570,000 residents who have no elected representative in Congress and lack full fiscal and legislative self governance.  Congress can veto our locally passed laws. Congress can veto the budgets that spend locally raised tax dollars and that are approved by officials who are locally elected. 

Congress seeks to direct education policy through the imposition of private school vouchers - the only place in the country where Congress can perform such a high-handed function.  In effect, Congress plays the role of de facto representatives, and D.C. residents, their de facto, non-voting constituents.  Congress should be a willing audience to D.C. residents on all matters in the U.S. Congress, especially those concerning local D.C. policies, laws and spending.  The school vouchers white elephant is just the latest example of this interference.  Other examples of congressional overreaching in D.C. affairs abound.

D.C. residents are de facto constituents. Congress should accept and invite all forms of communication from their de facto constituents, D.C. residents -  as they do all of their ELECTED constituents.  Congress, listen to D.C.  That is the least you can do since you choose to intermeddle in our local affairs.

                                       Senator Tom Daschle (D - SD) Senator Bill Frist (R - TN)  

  Dear Senator, I am writing to ask for your help in correcting a communications problem that is symbolic of a larger political disenfranchisment of Washington, D.C. residents. I am writing to protest D.C. residents' lack of email access to members of the U.S. House and Senate. D.C. residents lack a vote in Congress and are subject to congressional oversight of our lawmaking and spending, even of our locally raised tax dollars. Congress serves as de facto representatives of D.C. residents. As such, Congress can veto our locally passed laws. Congress can veto the budget created by officials we elected. Congress can also impose education policies on D.C. that have no local origin. Congress essentially acts as our voting representatives in Congress. That makes us D.C. residents constituents of every single member of Congress. However, Congress does not on the whole permit or welcome email from us, their nonvoting constituents. Congress can turn a deaf ear to our voices using the communication medium most effective to convey our thoughts. The least we can get is the same hearing that their electoral constituents do. Congress plays the role of our governor, and Congress must accept email from D.C. I appreciate your help in obtaining access to full email access to each and every member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Thank You.

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