HOUSING PROJECT

Davis Backs Expanding House for D.C. Seat: GOP Plan Would Give District a Vote in Congress, Balanced by Republican Slot (Craig Timberg, June 27, 2003, Washington Post)

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III is working on a proposal to expand the House of Representatives by two seats, giving the District of Columbia its long-sought vote in Congress while not upsetting the partisan balance of power there.

The Davis plan, which an aide said is months from being in final form, was hailed by city officials as a crucial step toward giving residents their rightful say in the nation's lawmaking, military actions and spending decisions. [...]

The Davis plan likely would give mostly Republican Utah, which lost a seat in the last round of redistricting, a fourth House seat, counterbalancing the presumably Democratic seat for the District, where the party holds an 11-1 registration edge. [...]

The size of the House of Representatives is set by law, not by the Constitution, and can be changed by Congress. The number of districts was increased to 437 after Alaska and Hawaii were added as states in the 1950s. Then in 1963 the number reverted to 435, where it has stood since.

If you're going to give the District a seat just do so, don't try to balance it racially and politically. That's embarrassing. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 28, 2003 9:06 AM