Unprecedented bipartisan approval of DC Voting Rights Act
So far, so good for the DC voting rights bill. The mark-up went very well!
From DC Vote:
Washington, DC - In a momentous vote cast this afternoon by the House Committee on Government Reform, the DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act (H.R. 5388) passed by a vote of 29-4. The bill would give Washington, DC, residents a voting member in the House of Representatives for the first time ever.
“This mark-up is the crown jewel of the decade for the DC voting rights movement,” said DC Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka. “Today we celebrate an astounding victory on a historical vote. We have been inching toward our goal of congressional voting representation for years, and the mark-up of this bill moves us miles closer to the finish line.”
Republicans and Democrats have come together on a consensus bill, H.R. 5388, the DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2006. Representative Tom Davis (R-VA), sponsor of the bill and the chair of the committee, marked-up the DC Voting Rights Act with the support of Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) as well as the committee’s vice chair and ranking minority member.
“The mark-up is a bright green light, empowering us to move full-speed ahead on the DC Voting Rights Act,” said Zherka. “We have our work cut out for us in the coming weeks, and we are eager to begin our work with the House Judiciary Committee.”
A high point in the committee hearing occurred when Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) expressed a change of heart after speaking with former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp and a young African-American woman who pressed him to finish the work of the civil rights movement. Burton had voiced his opposition to the DC Voting Rights Act earlier in the committee meeting.
I’ll keep you posted…