We're pretty busy following the action in the Senate as it happens, but for those who are interested, the House Judiciary Committee is marking up the House version of the D.C. Voting Rights Act right now (the hearing began at 2 p.m., but they are discussing the bill now). You can stream the hearing live here. Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) said he expected to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote sometime next week. more ›

When legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives came before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, all but two Republicans voted against it. One, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Ut.), would see his state gain an additional seat, so his support was a given. The second, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), was the surprise. Pence has always been a conservative's conservative, a former leader of the Republican Study Committee (a conservative caucus within... more ›

It may be cold and rainy, but there's still plenty of reasons to smile on this fine Friday morning. Maryland and Georgetown won, VCU triumphed over Duke in one of those only-in-March exciting final two minutes, and ... oooh, right. Sorry about that GWU. Ouch. How are your brackets doing this morning, Washington? More of course will be coming later from our crack team of sportsologists. Voting Rights That Much Closer: DCist already reported on... more ›

The House Judiciary Committee today endorsed legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, setting the measure on track for a full vote by the end of the month. Though legal scholars debated the constitutionality of the measure in a hearing before the committee yesterday and a number of amendments were considered today, the legislation easily gained the approval of the Democratic-led committee, 21-13. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rep. Chris... more ›

How many times have we written this headline, only to be disappointed as another roadblock gets thrown in the way of District voting rights? Far too many times. But we're a little more optimistic these days. more ›

Though the District continued its slow crawl back to normalcy after Tuesday night's ice storm, hundreds of District residents and supporters fanned out in Congress to lobby for legislation that would grant the city a voting seat in the House of Representatives. Part of a lobby day sponsored by D.C. Vote, the almost 400 residents divided up into 50 teams and aimed to visit every member of the House, bringing with them a simple message... more ›

Last year ended on a bit of a sour note for District voting rights, but activists aren't letting a little bad news stop them. After being stymied by Republican leaders in the closing weeks of the 109th Congress, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton re-introduced legislation on January 9 to grant the District one voting seat in the House of Representatives. The legislation, known as the Fair and Equal House Voting... more ›

Last week's hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives seemed to go swimmingly. Mayor-to-be Adrian Fenty and outgoing mayor Anthony Williams played nice among the 200-person crowd, no one on the committee chimed in to argue against the legislation -- all seemed to be moving forward. Almost. Committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner has apparently expressed displeasure with a provision of the... more ›

Step by step, inch by inch. That's how legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives is proceeding, but at least it's going somewhere. The House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing today on the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, a legislative proposal put forth by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton that would finally give the District a full... more ›

When it comes to fighting for District voting rights, activists face two main challengers -- the U.S. Congress and themselves. Members of Congress just either don't care much about whether or not the District's 600,000 residents have voting representation, or believe its a constitutional mandate written in stone that they shouldn't. They can be swayed. But many District-based voting right activists differ sharply on what the best approach to gaining voting rights is -- some... more ›

Are the stars aligning? We're slow to trust Tom Davis after he toyed with our heart last week, saying first that a vote for D.C. was a sure thing, then warning us that the road was still quite long and fraught with danger. One thing's for sure, however. Davis is doing his damnedest to build momentum (Tomentum?) for the bipartisan bill, and he's close to convincing us it's a real possibility. Yesterday, with District officials... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We hope you got through yesterday's tornado warning alright — it seems likely that you did. Today should bring better weather, with a high of 75 and relatively twister-free skies. Optimism Over Voting Rights Bill: Yesterday brought news of Reps. Davis and Norton's bill to bring congressional representation to the District. Now the Post brings us more details on the challenges that the measure will face. Congressman Davis says that the House... more ›

District officials expressed relief last week when a Supreme Court ruling liberally interpreted the power of eminent domain to include taking private property and re-developing it to promote economic development -- a step seen as necessary for both the re-development of the Skyland strip mall and the construction of a new stadium for the Washington Nationals, both in Southeast. That feeling of relief may have been premature, though. more ›