D.C. might not have voting representation in Congress, the right to pass a local law without federal approval or the authority to spend its money without the president’s signature, but as of 2009 it will have its own quarter.
The omnibus appropriations bill approved this week by Congress authorizes an extension of the U.S. Mint’s 50 State Quarters Program to include the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Beginning in 2009, the Treasury Department must issue 25-cent coins in sequential order beginning with D.C., followed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
“There are things you know you have to fight for, and this should not be one of them,” said D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who battled for years to have the District included in the quarter program. “This should have been easy. This was cheating the District outrageously.”
The appropriations bill must still be signed by President Bush.
The final design for the District’s quarter will be selected by the U.S. Treasury secretary after consultation with Mayor Adrian Fenty and the Commission of Fine Arts. Most states have held competitions to determine the ultimate look, and Fenty said he anticipates a process “that involves maximum resident input.”
“The opportunity to highlight the District of Columbia’s identity, like every other state has been able to do, is a very exciting opportunity for us and the residents of the city,” the mayor said in a statement.
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson recommended inscribing “No taxation without representation” on the District’s quarter. Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham was quick to suggest Frederick Douglass.
Don’t expect the D.C. coin to publicize the District’s disenfranchisement, Norton said, as Treasury rules forbid political expression on coins.
D.C. Vote will nevertheless lobby for the No Taxation slogan, said Ilir Zherka, the organization’s executive director.
