March 20, 2007 11:13 AM

Hotline: Stop DC Voting Rights Bill

This is "Crosstalk Hotline". Listed below is information regarding issues that are important to you, our listeners, families, churches, and members of the community at large.

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Crosstalk has received the following information from Eagle Forum. It demands immediate action.

Earlier this year, Democrats attempted to pad their majority by giving certain congressional voting rights to delegates from 5 non-state territories the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. AS Eagle Forum predicted, that was just the beginning. Now, they are taking the bold--and unconstitutional step of granting full voting rights to the DC delegate by voting on the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act ( H.R. 1433).

Sponsored by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), this bill, scheduled for a vote this Friday, would establish full House of Representatives voting rights for the District of Columbia and add an additional seat to Utah, the next state in line to pick up a Congressional seat in reapportionment. This is an attempt to silence critics of DC voting rights, buying them off with a "sure Republican" seat because they know the DC seat will be a solid Democrat. This type of trade-off proves this is a partisan move by Democrats wanting to add a permanent Democrat vote to their tallies.

Most importantly, allowing non-state delegates to vote is clearly unconstitutional. The Constitution says the House shall be composed of "Members chosen ... by the People of the several States," not delegates representing non-state territories. The District of Columbia is a federal city, not a state, with final governing authority resting with Congress.

Even some conservative Republicans, such as Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), are making the mistake of supporting this unconstitutional piece of legislation.

Congress will likely vote on the DC Voting Rights this Friday! So it is imperative that you let your Representative know about your concern over the DC Voting Rights (H.R. 1433)! If you agree with Eagle Forum that this is an unconstitutional attempt to expand the membership of the House of Representatives, please call today!

Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Ask for the office of your representative. If you do not know who your Representative is, give the operator your zip code which determines which office you need to reach.

Thanks again for taking time to be involved!

The Crosstalk Team

Thanks again for taking time to be involved!