Autonomy

Last week, Chairman Phil Mendelson and the other members of the D.C. Council unanimously introduced a bill to advance democracy for the people of the District . The bill would allow D.C. voters to amend the Home Rule Charter in a referendum next spring to establish greater budget autonomy for the District. Under the bill, once the council and the mayor approve the spending of the District's local revenue in its local budget, the city would no longer have to wait for Congress to affirmatively enact the budget.

Regarding Dana Milbank's May 29 op-ed column, " Cleaning up D.C.'s house ": D.C. residents should not be denied the rights enjoyed by all other Americans because of the conduct of some of their local officials. If this were the standard for "deserving" democracy, no residents of any state or city would be entitled to elect their own representatives or to make decisions regarding the laws that should govern them. Why should the District be viewed more critically when corruption and malfeasance is common in our...

Contrary to Wayne C. Witkowski and Leonard H. Becker's assertions on this page last week [" An unlawful proposal for D.C. budget autonomy ," Local Opinions, Oct. 28], there are substantial bases to conclude that the Home Rule Act can be amended via referendum to give the District autonomy over its local budget. And regardless of the outcome, a vote on budget autonomy would be an important step forward in the District's fight for self-determination and should be vigorously pursued.

There is no sign that Congress plans to overturn or challenge the District's budget autonomy referendum that passed last month , but D.C. leaders vowed Tuesday to be on guard against any effort to do so. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) joined Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and local activists on Capitol Hill for a news conference to warn against the addition of "riders" on issues such as abortion, gun laws and needle exchange programs to the forthcoming appropriations bill covering the District.

IRBIL, Iraq — A northern province of Iraq declared autonomy Thursday in response to a security sweep that has outraged Sunni communities, which say they are being unjustly targeted by the Shiite-led central government. Over the past three days, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's security forces have detained more than 500 people in a campaign billed as an anti-insurgency operation but viewed by some as a gambit to consolidate sectarian power before the U.S. troop withdrawal. The Salahuddin provincial council voted to...

PRESIDENT OBAMA is following through on the promise made at the start of his second term to stand up for the rights of the people of the District of Columbia. The inclusion in his proposed budget of a legislative provision that would give the District control over its own dollars is a significant development. With momentum building for budget autonomy — D.C. residents are set to vote soon on a referendum on the issue — Congress should take note and take the steps necessary to give the District its legitimate rights.

THE DISTRICT of Columbia has the singular distinction — indignity is the better word — of having to get congressional approval before spending a penny of its local dollars. The lack of budget autonomy has persisted despite complaints from local officials, and agreement from national leaders in both parties, that it is unfair and impractical to deny D.C. a right that every other city in the country enjoys. But the District's upcoming special election provides a critical opportunity to correct this long-standing...

District residents could soon vote to free the city from some congressional spending restrictions if the D.C. Council passes legislation to be introduced Tuesday by Chairman Phil Mendelson. The proposal represents a sharp turn in the District's march toward budget autonomy, a key goal of voting rights activists and city officials that has been embraced by some congressional Republicans but complicated by threats of amendments targeting District affairs. Mendelson's bill would authorize a vote in the...

In the Nov. 18 editorial "Thanks, but no thanks," The Post agreed with District leaders that gaining budget autonomy is less important than maintaining the (currently disallowed) ability to use city funds to pay for abortions. While Congress's constant meddling in purely local affairs is an affront to all District residents, this latest compromise should be accepted. Far from being a being a poison pill, as was the amendment to gut the city's gun laws, the offer by House oversight and government...

There is no sign that Congress plans to overturn or challenge the District's budget autonomy referendum that passed last month , but D.C. leaders vowed Tuesday to be on guard against any effort to do so. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) joined Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and local activists on Capitol Hill for a news conference to warn against the addition of "riders" on issues such as abortion, gun laws and needle exchange programs to the forthcoming appropriations bill covering the District.

Major League Soccer coach Ben Olsen speaks as knowledgeably and fervently as any District resident about his adopted home town's lack of a vote in Congress — so much so that he was the featured guest at a recent fundraiser for the cause. "I'm part of this city," he said. "I live here. I'm raising my family here. " But when the longtime D.C. United player-turned-coach was asked to hold forth on a coming referendum on budget autonomy for the District, Olsen had a harder time expressing the value of the...

PRESIDENT OBAMA is following through on the promise made at the start of his second term to stand up for the rights of the people of the District of Columbia. The inclusion in his proposed budget of a legislative provision that would give the District control over its own dollars is a significant development. With momentum building for budget autonomy — D.C. residents are set to vote soon on a referendum on the issue — Congress should take note and take the steps necessary to give the District its legitimate...

THE DISTRICT of Columbia has the singular distinction — indignity is the better word — of having to get congressional approval before spending a penny of its local dollars. The lack of budget autonomy has persisted despite complaints from local officials, and agreement from national leaders in both parties, that it is unfair and impractical to deny D.C. a right that every other city in the country enjoys. But the District's upcoming special election provides a critical opportunity to correct this long-standing...

Thomas Young, like so many other people, signed up for military service after September 11th. He understandably thought he would be sent to Afghanistan, but instead he was inexplicably sent to Iraq. Less than a week after being deployed he was hit by a sniper's bullet and became paralyzed from the chest down. Since that tragic day, the 33-year-old has endured many different kinds of setbacks and difficulties. Five years ago he suffered a pulmonary embolism which hurt his ability to speak and to use his arms.

The White House delighted Mayor Vincent C. Gray and other local officials and activists when it announced last month that the city's "Taxation Without Representation" plates would be placed on the presidential motorcade. But Gray is afraid that President Obama's embrace of the District voting-rights crusade may end there. Gray said he thought it was unlikely Obama would indulge his follow-up request — to mention a local D.C. issue in his State of the Union address Tuesday. "I...

When they heard that the White House would use the District's pointed "taxation without representation" license plates on presidential limousines, city leaders called friends and reporters to share the news — and made plans to take photos of the plates during Monday's inaugural parade. District leaders originally felt as if a special crush had just called them for a second date. They wondered whether President Obama's decision could be a breakthrough in the District's decades-long...

Major League Soccer coach Ben Olsen speaks as knowledgeably and fervently as any District resident about his adopted home town's lack of a vote in Congress — so much so that he was the featured guest at a recent fundraiser for the cause. "I'm part of this city," he said. "I live here. I'm raising my family here. " But when the longtime D.C. United player-turned-coach was asked to hold forth on a coming referendum on budget autonomy for the District, Olsen had a harder time expressing the value of the...

The White House delighted Mayor Vincent C. Gray and other local officials and activists when it announced last month that the city's "Taxation Without Representation" plates would be placed on the presidential motorcade. But Gray is afraid that President Obama's embrace of the District voting-rights crusade may end there. Gray said he thought it was unlikely Obama would indulge his follow-up request — to mention a local D.C. issue in his State of the Union address Tuesday. "I...

The District's attorney general implored elections officials Monday to halt a voter referendum that would give local leaders more freedom to spend funds without congressional approval, testifying that the measure plainly exceeds the city's powers. Irvin B. Nathan told the three-member Board of Elections it was a "difficult and sad" task to counsel against the budget autonomy referendum , whose policy goals he supports. But he said it "may well be in the long-term best interest of the...