Committee Votes for Representation of the Nation's Capital in the House
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 5/23/2006
Last week, Washington D.C., the nation's capital, moved one step closer to obtaining voting representation in Congress.
On May 18, the House Committee on Government Reform passed, by a vote 29-4, the "DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act" (HR 5388), sponsored by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R. Va., and Delegate Eleanor Norton, D. D.C.
The measure would add one full voting member to the House of Representatives for the District and one for Utah, permanently expanding the House from 435 to 437 members.
"Today we celebrate an astounding victory on a historical vote. We have been inching toward our goal of congressional voting representation for years, and the mark-up of this bill moves us miles closer to the finish line," said Ilir Zherka, DC Vote executive director. For years, DC Vote, together with former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, Rep. Davis, and others, has led a broad coalition in support of DC voting rights.
D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said that the vote "shows that Democrats and Republicans can come together to agree on at least one thing...I hope that the members of the House Judiciary Committee will give this bill the same prompt and favorable consideration."
Prominent civil rights leaders have hailed the bill. Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, called it "a principled and pragmatic blend that will right a wrong and give DC residents a voice in the halls of Congress."
One of the highlights of the vote was the turnaround of Rep. Dan Burton, R. Ind., who had previously denounced the bill as unconstitutional. He said that support for the bill should be seen "as a civil rights step," following a passionate appeal from Kemp and a young black Republican woman from D.C., who asked Burton to see the issue as unfinished work of the civil rights movement.
Utah was chosen to receive the additional seat because it was next in line to receive one following the 2000 Census.
In addition, Utah was included in the measure because it has been a historically Republican state. Given the probable Democratic D.C. seat, according to DC Vote, the addition of the two seats would have a politically neutral effect.
HR 5388 now goes to the House Judiciary Committee for a vote.
