A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday moved quickly to pass the D.C. voting rights bill, setting up a critical vote before the full chamber about two years after the same legislation was narrowly rejected.
The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., voted 11-1 in favor of a plan to give the District its first voting member in the House of Representatives. The same committee approved a virtually identical bill two years ago.
“We hope and believe that this is our year,” said Lieberman, who introduced the legislation.
He added: “This has been a controversial subject and still is in some quarters, but I don’t really think it should be. In my view this is a historic injustice that the citizens of the District have been forced to endure because of a congressional oversight that occurred when the District was created in 1800.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was the lone voice of opposition.
“I hate to rain on the parade, but I think it’s unconstitutional,” McCain said during a brief debate.
The legislation would add two seats to the House, one for the Democratic-leaning D.C. and the other for Republican-leaning Utah, which narrowly lost out on an additional seat during the last reapportionment. A similar bill is making its way through the House, where it is likely to pass.
Supporters say Congress has absolute constitutional authority over the District, including the power to enfranchise its citizens. Critics, mostly Republicans, argue the Constitution clearly provides House representation only to the states.
The measure fell three votes shy of passing the Senate in 2007, but Democrats have since added to their majority. There is a sense of optimism this year, especially with President Obama backing the bill.
“Every resident surely is encouraged today that, notwithstanding the serious business before the House and the Senate, a Senate committee today voted, moving the D.C. House Voting Rights bill to the floor,” D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, said in a statement.
Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., a graduate of the Howard University School of Law, said he has been hearing about the District’s disenfranchisement since 1960.
“It’s about time we get representation for the citizens some 50 years later,” he said.
