The U.S. House is expected to vote today on a bill that would grant the District its first vote in Congress in more than 200 years.
The bipartisan D.C. Voting Rights Act would expand the House by two seats, one for the District and the other for Utah. It was pulled from the floor last month after Republican opponents coupled it with an amendment to overturn the city’s strict gun laws.
Democrats, who set the rules for debate, are likely to return today with a new strategy to prohibit amendments.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said this week that he is confident of success because “a vote in favor of D.C. voting rights in the House of Representatives is nothing less than a vote in defense of democracy and all of the values and principles for which our nation stands.”
Ilir Zherka, executive director of the organization DC Vote, said his group was working the phones Wednesday to rally support across the aisle.
“This is about having more than enough Republicans so that it maintains a bipartisan feel,” Zherka said.
The bill’s prospects in the Senate are unclear, and President Bush has threatened to use his veto power. Critics charge that the voting rights measure is unconstitutional. Many would prefer to cede a nonfederal section of the District to Maryland.
