Washington, D.C. – Today, the Constitution subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 157, a bill to grant D.C. residents a member of Congress who can vote on the House floor. Specifically, the bill authorizes one new House Member for the District, as well as a new Member position for Utah. Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding the legislation:
“Depriving D.C. residents of adequate representation in the House of Representatives is a wrong that has needed to be addressed for a long time. However, there is a right way to solve this problem and a wrong way. Unfortunately, House Democrats insist on again pursuing the wrong way.
“The Constitution is very clear about who should have representation on the House floor, specifically stating that Members shall be chosen by the ‘people of Several States.’ Since D.C. is not a state, it cannot have a voting Member in the House. Despite this obvious roadblock, House Democrats continue to push for a proposal that cannot and will not stand the ‘constitutionality’ test in federal court.
“If House Democrats are really interested in giving D.C. residents a vote in Congress, why waste time on legislation that is unconstitutional when there is a clear, legal solution? The District was originally carved out of Maryland. If D.C. were returned to Maryland—except for the Capitol and some federal buildings—District residents would be residents of a state and therefore, have the same voting rights. This idea is not novel; it has been done before. In 1846, D.C. returned a portion of land that had previously belonged to Virginia.
“The Founding Fathers specifically identified Washington, D.C. as a district in order to prevent D.C. from having too much or too little influence. Republicans support the ideals of our Founders to ensure that all Americans have fair representation in Congress. However, we will not ignore the principles we’ve sworn to uphold in order to prescribe some ‘quick fix’ solution that inevitably will be thrown out in court. I urge House Democrats to consider a constitutional compromise that allows all Americans the right to vote in Congress.”
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