Utah Seat Reworked in Amended D.C. Vote Bill

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IN THE SENATE, advocates of a vote for District residents in the House had a pretty good day on Tuesday at a Senate Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security Committee hearing. Companion legislation co-sponsored by the committee's chairman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, gained additional support in the chamber. A similar measure was OK'd by the House last month.

As seen here, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty had a nicely composed smile yesterday; as for D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who gave an impassioned speech about D.C. voting rights as a civil rights issue, we aren't so sure .... Perhaps it's the uncertain prospects the legislation faces in the Senate because of constitutional concerns that have been cited by some Republicans and other critics of the bill. The Post's Yolanda Woodlee has more on yesterday's hearing.

According to this morning's Roll Call, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the bill's other co-sponsor, made a significant change to the legislation in an effort to avoid a potential constitutional thorn. As designed, D.C.'s potential vote on Capitol Hill is tied to Utah getting a new congressional district, as it nearly missed the reapportionment cut in the 2000 U.S. Census. In the House version of the bill, an at-large seat would be given to Utah, which would avoid redistricting before the 2010 Census. But Hatch was concerned with the constitutionality of allowing Utah residents to be represented by two House members, so the bill was amended to mandate a redrawn congressional map for the Beehive State, which state legislators approved in a special session last year.

In the meantime — with the White House still opposing the bill — all eyes are on the Senate. While a number of senators have thrown their support behind the measure — including Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana — any one senator in the chamber could, in theory, filibuster the measure on the Senate floor or lob any number of procedural obstacles in its way.

Some Republicans, including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, say giving D.C. a House vote is unconstitutional. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the ranking member on the Governmental Affairs and Homeland Security Committee, has not thrown her support behind the bill, but, as Roll Call reported, endorses a full and equal vote for the District if the legislation is found to be constitutional. In order to secure safe passage through the closely divided Senate, sponsors need at least 10 Republicans to support the bill to quash a potential filibuster. As of right now, those GOP votes are not there. Stay tuned ...

» "Senate Panel Hears String of Impassioned Appeals" [WaPo]
» "D.C. Bill Gets Positive Reviews in Senate Debut" [Roll Call, subscription req'd]
» EARLIER: "With Push for D.C. Vote, Why Utah?" [Free Ride/Express]

Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post