This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - House Republicans and the White House geared up Tuesday to fight legislation that would grant Utah a fourth congressional seat and the District of Columbia its first full voting member of Congress.
The minority caucus issued a list of reasons to oppose the measure that is likely to be on the House floor on Friday; the e-mail was headlined, "D.C. Bill Fraught with Constitutional Peril."
The President's Office of Management and Budget also reiterated its opposition - reported by The Tribune last week. The official statement of administration policy says that even should the bill win congressional approval, President Bush's senior advisers would recommend he veto it.
The White House and congressional opponents say the proposal is unconstitutional.
"D.C. residents deserve the opportunity to pursue a greater voice in the federal government," the GOP memo says. "A bill granting them full representation in the House, however, is not feasible."
The bill is still expected to pass the House, where Democrats hold a 32-seat majority. Observers don't expect the measure to get far in the Senate.
Rep. Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican and supporter of the measure, says the bill has been "roundly" debated, researched and considered in hearings over a period of years.
He admits there are constitutional questions, but adds that, "At worst, it is clear that the issue is unclear. Historically, deference is given to Congress when such lack of clarity prevails."
The bill is mainly aimed at getting the nearly 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia a full-voting U.S. House member; the district currently has a delegate who can vote in committee but not on the House floor.
Under the bill, the heavily Democratic district seat would be politically balanced with an additional seat for Utah, a Republican-dominated state that barely missed out on getting a fourth seat after the last Census.
The talking points sent out Tuesday to lawmakers include reference to a report by Congress' research arm that says the bill is unconstitutional because the nation's founding document clearly states that members of the House will be elected by the "people of the several states," and the District of Columbia is not a state.
The message to Republicans says adding an additional seat to Utah - one that would be elected statewide until after the next Census - would "create an imbalance" where Utah residents would have two representatives while the rest of Americans would have one.
Also, the talking points say, Utah taxpayers would have to pay the tab for a special election "that may be deemed irrelevant in just a few years," when the state would likely get a seat anyway following the 2010 Census.
The GOP caucus memo also points out that if the two new seats - which would expand the House to 437 members - are later tossed out in court, its unclear whether votes before that would stand.
"In a closely divided House, this could throw the validity of many pieces of future legislation into question," the memo says.
Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote, which is pushing the legislation, says there is no constitutional peril.
"The Constitution isn't going to disappear," he said. "There won't be a crisis. There might be a court case. There may not be a court case."
The real point, he adds, is that this measure is to end an injustice.
"Are you going to provide voting representation, the basic right of a citizen, to the people of the district who should be like every other American?" he asks.
The House is expected to answer that question Friday.