On January 9, the bill to permanently expand the U.S. House of Representatives from 435 voting members to 437 was re-introduced. It is HR 328. This time, the lead sponsor is D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat. Last time, Virginia Republican Thomas M. Davis was the lead sponsor. The bill would give D.C. a voting representative and also give Utah a new seat, until the next reapportionment in 2011.
Supporters of the bill are somewhat concerned that Democrats may now not support it, since the new Utah seat is expected to elect a Republican.
Wouldn’t electing a representative from D.C. be unconstitutional?
Why, yes, but “what’s a Constitution among friends?”
For those folks who don’t recognize it, “What’s a Constitution among friends?” is the (apparently not-so-famous) quote, variously attributed to, among others, Justice Holmes.
For further information, see http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=%22What's+a+Constitution+among+friends%3F%22