Utah's 4th House seat near victory in Senate

Senate Democrats now report enough support to kill any final-hurdle GOP filibuster against a bill that would give the heavily Democratic District of Columbia a U.S. House seat — and also give heavily Republican Utah a fourth House seat as a political counterweight.

That came as Congressional Quarterly reported on Friday that three key freshmen Democratic senators say they will support the bill. That should give Democrats (and a few GOP allies) the 60 votes they need to prevent any filibuster when the Senate votes Tuesday on a "cloture" motion to order moving the bill to final debate and a vote on passage.

A similar bill died last year on a 57-42 procedural vote, three votes short of the total needed to end a Republican filibuster then.

But three Republicans who voted against it last year lost bids for reelection: John Warner of Virginia, Gordon Smith of Oregon and Ted Stevens of Alaska.

The three Democrats who replaced them — Mark Warner of Virginia, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Mark Begich of Alaska — all indicated on Friday they will support the bill, apparently clearing the final hurdle that had stopped the bill in the past.

"Although the stimulus bill passed and crowded out most issues, the D.C. voting rights bill has been moving with the speed rare for a bill this year," said Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting delegate to Congress for the District of Columbia.

The Senate is expected to begin debate on the bill on Monday, and move to the procedural vote on Tuesday. Coincidentally, the House Judiciary Committee has also scheduled a Tuesday vote on the bill, which would move it to the full House (which had passed a similar bill on a 241-177 vote in 2007).

The bill would permanently expand the number of U.S. House members from 435 to 437 after the 2010 elections. One seat would go to D.C., and the other would until the next Census go to Utah because it was next in line for a House seat after the 2000 Census (when it missed an extra seat by falling just 80 people short in population).

The Senate version of the bill would require the Utah Legislature to redraw House district boundaries in Utah to create a fourth district. The House bill calls for keeping Utah's current three House districts, and electing the fourth member statewide in an at-large district (meaning Utahns would each actually vote for two House members in 2010) — which Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has said is unconstitutional.

Critics, such as Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, oppose both bills saying the Constitution allows House seats only for states, and D.C. is not a state.

Defenders, such as Hatch, argue that courts have allowed D.C. residents to have such rights as trial by jury even though the Constitution's wording gives it only to residents of states, so Congress can similarly choose to give D.C. residents representation in Congress. D.C. residents have long contended they have taxation without representation.

If the bill passes, a court challenge is expected. Both versions of the bill provide for expedited review of any such suit by federal courts.

E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com