Home Rule Or House Rule

Book excerpt: Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution of the United States grants Congress complete authority over the seat of government, the District of Columbia. This clause creates an infirmity that renders the residents of the District without the same measure of democracy enjoyed by Americans in the states. Various remedies have been attempted, none of which put the residents of the District on par with their fellow Americans. This book presents a political analysis of the relationship between Congress and the local government of Washington, D.C. It examines the influence of suburban members of Congress on District affairs, the fiscal crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, governmental inefficiency, and the Control Board.