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CRS Doubts Constitutionality of D.C. Bill |
Article: CRS Doubts Constitutionality of D.C. Bill
By Elizabeth Brotherton, Roll Call, Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Summary: Perhaps previewing an expected legal challenge, a newly released Congressional Research Service report argues that current legislation doesn't give Congress the constitutional authority to grant a House vote to the nonvoting delegate from the District. There's very little case law on the issue, but what does exist indicates that Washington, DC, isn't a state for the purposes of representation, and the power Congress holds over DC isn't enough to grant a House vote, the report reads. The report specifically studies the constitutionality of the DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, which would grant Democratic-leaning DC a vote in the House while also giving one to Republican Utah. Introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the bill currently sits in the Judiciary Committee. No hearing on it has been scheduled yet. Despite the report, Norton remains confident in the measure. Some observers believe the CRS report is further proof that only a constitutional amendment will permanently bring full congressional representation to the District, because the Norton-Davis bill is bound to be thrown out. Supporters of the bill are still confident, argue bipartisanship remains important in the effort, and say the Constitution is behind them. Yesterday, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy hosted a forum on the constitutionality of the bill. The report also analyzed the constitutionality of a recent House rules change that granted Norton and the four other Delegates a vote in the Committee of the Whole. Unlike H.R. 328, the largely symbolic nature of that vote and past legal precedent likely will serve to uphold the rules change.
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