White House opposes bill that would give Utah a 4th congressional seat

WASHINGTON — With President Bush now saying the District of Columbia should not get a voting seat in the U.S. House, U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett says that if he were a betting man, he'd wager against Utah getting a fourth seat as part of the deal before the 2010 Census.

But the House delegate for Washington, D.C., said White House officials have yet to see a final version of the bill that she said would pass the Senate with the support of Utah's senators. The bill is expected to pass the House.

A White House spokesman confirmed Friday morning that Bush believes it is unconstitutional to give the district a voting House member because the Constitution says only representatives from states may sit in the 435-member House, and the District of Columbia is not a state.

Bennett, R-Utah, told the Deseret Morning News Friday that while he supports another seat for Utah, "if the president issues a veto threat, then I'm fairly certain there are not 60 votes in the Senate" for a bill moving through the House that would give the district one voting member and add a fourth voting member in Utah.

A spokesman for Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was also disappointed.

"After many years of thorough review and legal analysis, it is unfortunate that the White House has taken this position, particularly after signaling their acceptance initially," said Huntsman spokesman Mike Mower.

But delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said the war is far from over.

She said she will lobby Utah's senators to ensure passage in the Senate, where some members have concerns over the bill.

"This bill needs Senate passage, of course, but in the end, it is in the hands of the two Utah senators," she said. "The traditions of the Senate call for deference to the senators whose state is affected, as a matter of senatorial courtesy."

And if it passes both House and Senate "there will be no reason for the president to veto legislation extending the basic human right of representation to the people of his own capital," Norton said.

The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill Thursday, sending it to the full House for a vote that is expected to come at the end of the month. Bill supporters acknowledged they don't have all the votes they need in the Senate just yet but are working on getting support.

DC Vote executive director Ilir Zherka said that there had been no positive response from the White House so far and White House Spokesman Alex Conant said today that the administration "opposes the bill because it is unconstitutional."