The head of the Congressional Committee overseeing municipal government in Washington, DC said yesterday that a plan to strip D.C. elected officials of most of their powers is a done deal. But Virginia Congressman Tom Davis(r) said that once the city gets its finances in order, some of the restrictions may be removed.

President Clinton signed into law last month a sweeping measure that shifts control of municipal government in Washington, DC away from the elected Mayor and a 13-member City Council to an appointed financial control board.

The bill, which has sparked heated protest, essentially provides the financially strapped city some $1 billion in Federal aid over the upcoming years. In return, the people of the District of Columbia lose almost completely the right to elected self-government.

Still, a broad based coalition that has emerged to fight the deal continues to fight. Yesterday, civil rights leaders, including the Reverend Jesse Jackson, protested what they call the destruction of democracy in the nation’s capitol.

Guest:

• Rev. Jesse Jackson, the head of Rainbow/PUSH based in Washington, DC.