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The
Washington
Post
A Fair Vote
Republicans are key
to ending D.C. disenfranchisement.
EDITORIAL,
washingtonpost.com from the Web, June 13, 2007
LEGISLATION to give the District its
first-ever voting member of Congress is set for markup in a Senate committee
today. Approval is likely, but a test of the bill's eventual chances for
enactment is how many Republicans vote yes. Encouragingly, the committee's
ranking minority member has come out in favor of the bill. Others should
follow her lead in placing fairness ahead of partisanship.
The support of Sen. Susan M. Collins (Maine), senior Republican on the Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, comes in the face of strong
opposition from her party's leaders. The White House has threatened a
veto, and supporters fear a filibuster on the Senate floor; hence the need to
round up GOP votes. The bill, a version of which has passed the House,
would give the District a voting member in the House while adding a seat for
Utah. Both Republican senators from Utah back the bill. Of the other
Republicans on the committee, Sen. George V. Voinovich (Ohio) is leaning toward
the bill. We are disappointed that Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who has tried
to be a good friend to the District, has decided to oppose the bill in
committee.
Mr. Warner's opposition is grounded ostensibly in concerns about its
constitutionality. Indeed, there are valid and strong arguments on both
sides of this debate, but, as Ms. Collins pointed out yesterday, the best place
to decide that question is in the courts. She is proposing an expedited
process for court review. It's a sensible solution that Republican and
Democrat alike should embrace. The alternative, after all, is continued
disenfranchisement of a city whose residents duly pay their taxes and loyally
serve in the military. That this bill has gotten as far as it has, while
separate measures giving the city legislative and budget autonomy are being
advanced in the House, offers evidence that at the very least some people are
finally starting to feel guilty about the city's second-class status.
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