Lieberman on D.C. Vote Bill: Fight's On for 60

Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, right, and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty shake hands after Wednesday's successful vote to move D.C. voting rights legislation out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and to the full Senate. Photo by Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post

D.C. VOTING RIGHTS advocates were jubilant on Wednesday after legislation that would grant the District a full and equal vote in the House got an OK by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Says the bill's Senate co-sponsor, Connecticut Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman: "It ain't over. We've got a fight on the floor to get 60 votes."

The Post's Mary Beth Sheridan reports on the continued momentum pushing the legislation forward. Three new Republicans, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, George Voinovich of Ohio and Susan Collins of Maine got behind the bill, but Virginia's John Warner, did not, citing the clause of Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that grants House representation to states. The District, opponents of the legislation point out, isn't a state.

Now that the bill is headed for the full Senate, the push is on to get enough Republicans on board to get past the 60-vote threshold to block a filibuster. And that's going to be tough.

» "D.C. Vote Bill Wins Big in Senate Panel" [WaPo]