Pubdate: Fri, 03 Nov 2000 Source: Morning Call (PA) Copyright: 2000 The Morning Call Inc. Contact: http://www.mcall.com/ Author: Pat Rogers DON'T SUPPRESS DEMOCRACY IN D.C. To the Editor: In 1998, 69 percent of Americans who call Washington, D.C. their home voted to give medical professionals the responsibility to prescribe cannabis if appropriate. Initiative-59 received resounding voter approval. In 1999, the Republican-dominated 106th U.S. Congress nullified that legal and ultimate expression of redress by a majority of Americans in their own community. While the Congress has the right to overrule the people and government of our national capital, is it right for our Congress to suppress the will of 69 percent of the people? Would any American want Congress to veto, nullify and suppress his or her legal vote? These members of the 106th U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania voted to suppress the will of the voters in our national capital: Robert Brady, Chaka Fattah, Robert Borski, Ron Klink, John Peterson, Curt Weldon, Jim Greenwood, Bud Shuster, Donald Sherwood, Paul Kanjorski, John Murtha, Joseph Pitts, George Gekas, Mike Doyle, William Goodling, Frank Mascara and Phil English. These members of the 106th U.S. Congress from Pennsylvania voted to uphold and defend America's democratic institutions and traditions. These brave members opposed the suppression of a legal voter initiative by Americans: Tim Holden, Joseph Hoeffel, William Coyne and Pat Toomey. This represents how our representatives voted on the final of two votes on this issue, when it was included in the Y2K Omnibus Spending Bill. The first anti-democracy bill was originally presented as the Washington, D.C. Appropriations Bill. President Clinton vetoed the first bill specifically due to this states rights issue. In that first House vote to suppress democracy in Washington, D.C., Rep. Toomey joined with the Republican majority and for the first time in history vetoed America's democratic tradition. In the Senate, both Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum voted repeatedly to suppress democracy in Washington, D.C. Pat Rogers, Allentown - --- MAP posted-by: Terry F