The next battle to bring the District a vote in Congress will take place in the House Judiciary Committee, if the panel’s chairman is even willing to consider the bill.
The Government Reform Committee on Thursday voted 29-4 to pass legislation, co-introduced by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., and District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D, that would deliver one vote to D.C. and another to Utah, permanently expanding the House by two seats. The committee also rejected Norton’s proposal to give the city full voting rights in the House and Senate.
“Mr. Chairman, your bill is a good first step, but the Norton bill should be the ultimate goal,” Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., told Davis, the committee’s chairman.
Norton agreed.
Progress, she said, “occurs in steps.”
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has pledged to take up the bi-partisan Norton-Davis compromise, Davis said. But Sensenbrenner has yet to speak publicly on the matter, raising serious doubts about whether the District’s half a million residents will win limited representation anytime soon.
“From here we will rely on the bridge-builders and pragmatists who’ve helped us get this far,” Davis said. “Because let’s be honest, this legislation, this movement, is not without its critics.”
Most of those critics are in Davis’ party. The four ‘no’ votes came from Republicans, where interest is not overwhelming to give the District, firmly controlled by the Democrats, a seat at the table. Opponents also argued the Constitution only provides states with the right to representation, and the best way to address the problem is to cede most District neighborhoods to Maryland.
Citing constitutional concerns, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said he would oppose the measure. But after a brief discussion with former Congressman Jack Kemp, he had a change of heart and voted ‘yes’ as a “civil rights step.”
The ‘no’ votes
» Candice Miller, R-Mich.
» John McHugh, R-N.Y.
» Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.
» Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio
