When I interviewed Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton in September, I asked her what her biggest challenge was. She responded, “I’ve been able to things done, even when Republicans [control the Congress]. You’ve got to say “how can I deal with them? I may have to deal with them again.” Well, she’ll certainly have to deal with a lot more Republicans during the next session of Congress — and she’ll have to deal with them without a vote on the floor of the House.

According to the Washington Post, House Republicans decided today that they will not allow delegates and resident commissioners to vote on some amendments come January. Of course, this is nothing new for Norton — she wasn’t allowed to vote on such amendments when Republicans held the majority in the House between 1995 and 2007. Even when the Democrats were in the majority, Norton’s vote was completely symbolic: it could not be the one to break a tie on any piece of legislation. Still, for someone who spends most of her time in Congress working to get voting rights for her constituents, it’s a touchy subject

Norton released the following statement in reaction to the news:

We have learned that the draft of the new House rules for the 112th Congress does not include a vote in the Committee of the Whole for the District of Columbia. Upon learning this information this morning, I called Speaker-designate John Boehner but he was not in. I have also asked for a meeting with him.

It would be very painful to have to inform residents that the only vote they have ever had on the House floor has been taken away. We have long understood the position of many of our Republican colleagues on the full House vote. However, we had hoped that the rules for our delegate vote would be retained next Congress for a number of reasons. There has been a definitive federal court ruling upholding the constitutionality of this vote. The delegates have repeatedly exercised this vote for years with no adverse effects on the House, with only positive effects for the federal taxpaying residents of the District.

Last month I explained in a letter to Mr. Boehner the unique offense residents have felt during the years they have paid taxes with no say whatsoever on the House floor. Residents have had to cope with no vote in Congress, but they have expressed particular consternation at the thought of losing the only vote they now possess.

We will be making every effort to retain our vote in the Committee of the Whole, and to convince our Republican colleagues that this vote benefits the reputation of the ‘people’s House’ by maximizing the participation of members to the greater benefit of the American people.