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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) today voted against a bill, H.R. 1905, which quickly expands the U.S. House of Representatives to 437 members and for the first time, creates a seat for a non-state, the District of Columbia – a move America’s founding fathers rejected.
“Whether or not the residents of the District of Columbia deserve a representative in the U.S. House is a fair question. But it’s arrogant for Congress simply to ignore the Constitution, create a seat from thin air for D.C. and then say, hey, let’s throw in an extra member of Congress for Utah while we’re at it.”
Bill proponents tried to soften the accusations of partisan politics by adding the Utah seat in a reliably GOP state to “offset” the 95% Democrat District of Columbia. According to the last census, Utah was next in line to receive a new Member based on its population growth.
“Those who support D.C. representation should quit trying to skirt the Constitution and instead propose an amendment for the states to consider so it can be addressed in a permanent way, the right way.”
The Constitution explicitly did not make D.C. a State of the Union or give it the legislative function of a state. The Founding Fathers deliberately crafted the District as a neutral territory where states could meet in an open forum and rejected, by vote, a proposal to add it. Legal experts warn that any legislation passed by the House where the new Utah member or the new D.C. member cast a deciding vote would later be called into question if the Supreme Court declares the bill unconstitutional.
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