Resolution Adopted
by the CCAR
D.C.
Statehood
Adopted by the 104th
Annual Convention of
the Central Conference of American
Rabbis
Montreal, Quebec, June 1993
Background:
The District of Columbia is an anomaly within our democratic
nation, being the home
of more than
600.000 Americans, more than the populations of Alaska, Wyoming, or
Vermont. Residents of the District
of Columbia pay more federal taxes than the residents
of eight states and the District sent more people to
serve in Operation Desert Storm
than did 19 States. Moreover, while the residents of the
District of Columbia are
called
upon to meet the same obligations of citizenship as the residents of
the 50
States, they are denied
fundamental rights of citizenship enjoyed by the residents of the
States. For example, District
citizens have no representation in the Senate, and
their representatives in the House of
Representatives cannot vote in a manner that
can determine the outcome of a legislative
action.
Although Congress has granted the District a
significant measure of “home rule,” Congress
retains ultimate control over the budget of the
District and all local legislation.
Using this power, Congress last year imposed an unwanted
referendum on reinstatement of the death penalty on the District and
has often vetoed legislation enacted
by the elected City Council of the District. Using its control
over the budget, Congress
has
prevented the District from using locally raised revenues to provide
abortions
to poor women or
extending health benefits to domestic partners of District
employees.
The federal government also retains
complete control over the appointment of judges
who sit in the local courts of the District of
Columbia, these courts handle the
same civil and criminal matters as those dealt with in the
state and municipal courts
of the
50 States. Presidents can and have ignored qualified local candidates
for judgeships
to repair political
debts and appointed persons to the District bench who were not
district residents and had shown
little prior interest in the District.
The current status of the government of the District
of Columbia leaves its residents
second-class citizens with limited rights but all the
obligations imposed on citizens
of
the 50 States. For centuries until modern times, Jews throughout the
world have
experienced second-class
citizenship and its destructive consequences. Our tradition
tells us that all are created equal, and our
experience teaches us that all must
be treated equally. As a Movement we consistently support
achievement of equality
for
all.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Central Conference of American Rabbis:
1) Supports the creation of a fifty-first State
within what is now the District of
Columbia;
2) Urges the
Congress and President of the United States to take the necessary
actions
to achieve that end.