Bill would give Utah 4th seat in Congress

WASHINGTON — In what many consider the best opportunity in years for Washington, D.C., to gain voting rights in Congress, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., introduced legislation Tuesday that would give district residents one seat in the House of Representatives — and Utah a fourth.

The bill attempts to break the political inertia and partisan squabbling that has stalled district voting rights for two centuries by giving Utah, a Republican bastion, an additional House seat to balance the seat for Washington, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Supporters of the measure, including the city's Democratic mayor and most of its Democratic-dominated council, hailed it as a pragmatic compromise, saying they would prefer full congressional representation — two seats in the Senate as well as one in the House — but were prepared to push Davis' bill as a first step.

"What we desire is what every citizen beyond our borders enjoys, the power to determine their future," said Mayor Anthony Williams.

But despite the show of bipartisan support, Davis' bill faces a Catch-22 of obstacles from both parties.

The Republican House majority leadership, which has opposed voting rights for the district for years, has told Davis that he must win broad bipartisan support for the bill before they will consider bringing it to the floor, Davis said.

But the House minority leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has come out against the bill, saying it might allow the Republicans to increase their majority. She challenged the Republicans to bring the bill to a vote without Democratic support.

"Rep. Pelosi thinks that D.C. representation stands on its own merits," said Jennifer Cryder, a spokeswoman for the minority leader. "The Republicans are trying to play a shell game with it."

Under Davis' bill, the House would grow by two members to 437 after the November 2006 election. Washington would gain one seat, with the other going to the state next in line for a congressional seat, namely Utah, which narrowly missed gaining a fourth House seat after the last reapportionment.

Following the 2010 census, the House would shrink back to 435 members, with Washington retaining its seat and Utah likely to retain its additional seat because of population growth. Two seats would be lost in other states.

Pelosi's office said she opposes Davis' bill because it would require Utah to redraw its congressional lines before the 2010 Census. Because the Utah Legislature is dominated by Republicans, those lines would probably endanger the state's lone Democratic congressman, Rep. Jim Matheson of Salt Lake City.