District of Columbia's At-large Congressional District

District Of Columbia's At-large Congressional District

The District of Columbia's At-large congressional district is a congressional district based entirely of the District of Columbia. According to the U.S. Constitution, only states may be represented in the Congress of the United States. The District of Columbia is not a U.S. state and therefore has no voting representation. Instead, constituents in the district elect a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Unlike residents of U.S. territories, who also elect non-voting delegates to the Congress, D.C. residents pay federal income tax, which in the view of many residents subjects them to "taxation without representation".

Despite lacking full voting privileges on the floor of the House of Representatives, delegates are voting members in U.S. Congressional committees and they lobby their congressional colleagues regarding the District's interests. In January 2007, the House of Representatives adopted H.Res. 78, which permits delegates to cast non-binding floor votes when the House of Representatives was operating in the Committee of the Whole, a procedure that last existed from 1993-1995.

The district is currently represented by Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Read more about District Of Columbia's At-large Congressional District:  Delegates To The United States House of Representatives

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