ISSUE: Washington, D.C., representation in the House

OUR VIEW: Congress appears not to have authority to grant a vote in the House

Congress is on the verge of granting Washington, D.C., the right to elect voting representatives in the U.S. House. The problem is that Congress itself does not appear to have the authority to make such a decision.

D.C. residents have been fighting for voting rights since 1801, when Congress took control of the newly created capital. It wasn't until 1964 that residents were able to cast presidential ballots, and it took nearly another decade for Congress to pass the Home Rule Act, allowing for the direct election of the mayor and other city officials.

The district has elected a representative since the 1970s, but the House delegate can only vote in committees.

The Senate this past week gave overwhelming approval to legislation that would expand the 435-member House by two seats.

The bill, like the one senators killed two years ago, would give the district a vote in the House beginning in January 2011. To offset the likely election of a Democrat, the bill also adds a fourth seat for Republican-leaning Utah, which narrowly missed out on an extra spot after the 2000 census. President Obama supports the legislation.

The outcome is far from certain. The legislation faces legal challenges.

The conservative Heritage Foundation says the Constitution is clear: Congress lacks the constitutional authority to simply grant the district a voting representative, as the Constitution explicitly limits such representation to states alone, the organization says.

Article I, Section 2: "Representatives … shall be apportioned among the several States." The District, as courts and Congress have long agreed, is not a state.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told The Associated Press the measure is "flagrantly unconstitutional" and ultimately doomed.

"What these (lawmakers) are doing is extremely dangerous and destabilizing for our system of government," Turley said. "They are claiming the right to create a new type of voting member." The bill opens the door for Congress to give the vote to Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, he said.

If Washington is to get a voting member in Congress, there is a sure way to go about making it reality: a constitutional amendment. Such an amendment would require approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate and ratification by 38 states. Its a long road meant to be that way, as the Constitution is not a document to be amended with ease.

Granting the city a voice in presidential elections required an amendment, the 23rd. That is the course that should be pursued this time, too.

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