Taxation Without Representation

A little bit of history...

"No taxation without representation" was a slogan in the period 1763-1775 that summarized a primary grievance of the American colonists in the 13 colonies. The colonists complained that taxes were imposed by Parliament without the consent of the colonists, which violated the traditional rights of Englishmen dating back from the Magna Carta. The point was that the colonies had no representation in Parliament; the British responded that they were "virtually" represented. The Americans said these "virtual representatives" knew nothing about America. By the 1760s the Americans came to believe they were being deprived of a historic right.

In January 2001, Bush ordered the removal of the "Taxation Without Representation" license plates on the presidential limousines, replacing them with blank Washington, D.C. plates. This came shortly after President Bill Clinton had placed the new license plates on the limousines.

Senator Lieberman introduced the "No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003" (S. 617) on March 13, 2003, in the U.S. Senate, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced the same Act in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 1285). This legislation would treat D.C. as if it were a state for the purposes of voting representation in Congress.

Jun 23, 2003: Committee on Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.

View Full Text of Bill

This bill is identical to H.R. 1285 (Status: Introduced).

Bill Status

Mar 13, 2003: Introduced
-Scheduled for Debate
-Voted on in Senate
-Voted on in House
-Signed by President

This bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress. Sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven't passed are cleared from the books. This bill never became law.