Martin Austermuhle
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 voting representative. The legislation was introduced in early May, and was quickly endorsed by the House Government Reform Committee, chaired by Davis. In late July Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wi.), never a friend of the voting rights cause, promised to hold a hearing on the proposal.
A key element of the legislation is the fact that it grants Utah an additional seat in the House, thus mollifying Republicans who may otherwise recoil at the idea of adding one more voting Democrat to the 435-seat chamber. Some voting rights activists have criticized the proposal, arguing that it sells the District short and will deflate momentum towards budget autonomy and statehood.
The hearing will take place at 2 p.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Set to testify are Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr., American Enterprise Institute Research Fellow John Fortier, attorney Adam H. Charnes and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.
Picture snapped by Grundlepuck
