Number: RL33824
Title: The Constitutionality of Awarding the Delegate for the District of Columbia a Vote in the House of Representatives or the Committee of the Whole
Authors: Kevin R. Thomas, American Law Division 
Abstract: A variety of proposals have been made in the 110th Congress regarding granting the Delegate of the District of Columbia voting rights in the House. On January 24, the House approved H.Res. 78, which changed the House Rules to allow the D.C. delegate (in addition to the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and the delegates from American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) to vote in the Committee of the Whole, subject to a revote in the full House if such votes proved decisive. A bill introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, H.R. 1905, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007, would give the District of Columbia Delegate a vote in the Full House. On April 19, 2007, H.R. 1905 passed the House by a vote of 241 to 177. A similar bill, S. 1257, was considered by the Senate on September 18, but a motion to invoke cloture failed by a vote of 57-42.
Pages: 25
Date: October 25, 2007