District of Columbia Voting Representation in Congress: An Analysis of Legislative Proposals

District of Columbia
Voting Representation in Congress:
An Analysis of Legislative Proposals
Updated October 10, 2007
Eugene Boyd
Analyst
Government and Finance Division



District of Columbia Voting Representation in Congress:
An Analysis of Legislative Proposals
Summary
This report provides a summary and analysis of legislative proposals that would
provide voting representation in Congress to residents of the District of Columbia.
Since the issue of voting representation for District residents was first broached in
1801, Congress has considered five legislative options: (1) seek voting rights in
Congress by constitutional amendment, (2) retrocede the District to Maryland
(retrocession), (3) allow District residents to vote in Maryland for their
representatives to the House and Senate (semi-retrocession), (4) grant the District
statehood, and (5) define the District as a state for the purpose of voting for federal
office (virtual statehood).
On March 22, 2007, the House began floor consideration of H.R. 1433, the
District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007, but postponed a vote after
Representative Smith of Texas sought to add an amendment that would have repealed
the city’s gun control legislation. On April 19, 2007, nearly a month after H.R. 1433
was withdrawn from floor consideration, a new bill, H.R. 1905, granting voting
rights to the District was approved by the House. H.R. 1905 would increase the size
of the House from 435 to 437 Members and provide voting representation to the
District and the state most likely to gain an additional representative, Utah. In
addition to the question of its constitutionality, the bill includes a controversial
provision — namely, the temporary creation of an at-large congressional district for
Utah — that will most likely face a court challenge. On June 28, 2007, the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reported S. 1257, its
version of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007. S. 1257
includes several provisions not included in the House-approved bill. It would
prohibit the District from being considered a state for the purpose of Senate
representation; require the two new representatives (one from the District and one
from Utah) to be seated on the same date; require the new representative from the
State of Utah to be elected based on a redistricting plan enacted by the state; and
allow for expedited judicial review by the United States District Court for the District
of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court if the constitutionality of any
provision of the act is challenged. On January 16, 2007, Representative Dana
Rohrabacher introduced H.R. 492, a bill that would retrocede the District of
Columbia to Maryland. These proposals would grant voting representation by
statute, eschewing the constitutional amendment process and statehood option. Any
proposal considered by Congress faces three distinct challenges. It must (1) address
issues raised by Article 1, Sec. 2 of the Constitution, which limits voting
representation to states; (2) provide for the continued existence of the District of
Columbia as the “Seat of Government of the United States” (Article 1, Sec. 8); and
(3) consider its impact on the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which grants three
electoral votes to the District of Columbia. For a discussion of constitutional issues
of proposed legislation, see CRS Report RL33824, The Constitutionality of Awarding
the Delegate for the District of Columbia a Vote in the House of Representatives or
the Committee of the Whole, by Kenneth R. Thomas. This report will be updated as
events warrant.



Contents
In troduction ......................................................1
A Summary History of Legislative Options..............................2
Constitutional Amendment......................................3
Initial Efforts.............................................4
Continued Efforts..........................................6
States Fail to Ratify Constitutional Amendment..................6
Renewed Efforts...........................................6
Retrocession .................................................7
Early Debates.............................................7
Virginia Retrocession.......................................8
Constitutional Challenge to Virginia Retrocession................9
Maryland Retrocession.....................................9
Modern Era.............................................10
Semi-Retrocession: District Residents Voting in Maryland ...........11
Initial Efforts............................................11
Recent Efforts...........................................13
Statehood ...................................................14
Modern History..........................................15
Other Statutory Means.........................................16
Virtual Statehood.........................................16
Congressional District (H.R 1433)...........................17
H.R. 1905...............................................19
S. 1257.................................................20
Statement of Administration Policy...........................21
Analysis ........................................................21
Appendix A: Woodward Proposal....................................25
Appendix B: Anti-Lobbying Provisions in D.C. Appropriations Acts........26



District of Columbia Voting Representation
in Congress: An Analysis of Legislative
Proposals
Introduction
The Constitution, ratified in 1789, provided for the creation and governance of
a permanent home for the national government. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17,
called for the creation of a federal district to serve as the permanent seat of the new
national government1 and granted Congress the power
To exercise exclusive Legislation, in all Cases whatsoever, over such District
(not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the
Acceptance of Congress become the Seat of the Government of the United2
States....
Proponents of voting representation contend that the District’s unique
governmental status resulted in its citizens’ equally unique and arguably
undemocratic political status. Citizens residing in the District have no vote in their
national legislature, although they pay federal taxes and may vote in presidential
elections. Opponents often note that the Constitution grants only states voting
representation in Congress. They argue that, given the District’s unique status and
a strict reading of the Constitution, no avenue exists to provide District residents
voting rights in the national legislature other than a constitutional amendment or the
statehood process, which could be achieve by statute.
Issues central to the District of Columbia voting representation debate arguably
revolve around two principles of our republican form of government: (1) the consent
of the governed and (2) no taxation in the absence of representation. The debate has


1 Historians often point to the forced adjournment of the Continental Congress while
meeting in Philadelphia on June 21, 1783, as the impetus for the creation of a federal
district. Congress was forced to adjourn after being menaced for four days by a mob of
former soldiers demanding back pay and debt relief. Although the Congress sought
assistance and protection from the Governor of Pennsylvania and the state militia, none was
forthcoming. When the Congress reconvened in Princeton, New Jersey, much was made of
the need for a federal territory whose protection was not dependent on any state. U.S.
Congress, Senate, A Manual on the Origin and Development of Washington, S. Doc. 178,thrd

75 Cong., 3 sess., prepared by H. Paul Caemmerer (Washington: GPO, 1939) pp. 2-3.


2 In 1788, Maryland approved legislation ceding land to Congress for the creation of a
federal district. One year later, Virginia passed a similar act. On July 16, 1790, Congress
approved the Residence Act, “an act establishing the temporary (Philadelphia) and
permanent seat of the Government of the United States” along the Potomac.

also involved questions about how to reconcile two constitutional provisions: one
creating the District and giving Congress exclusive legislative power over the District
(Article I, Section 8); the other providing that only citizens of states shall have voting
representation in the House and Senate (Article 1, Section 2 and Section 3).
Over the years, proposals to give the District voting representation in Congress
have sought to achieve their purpose through
!constitutional amendment to give District residents voting
representation in Congress, but not granting statehood;
!retrocession of the District of Columbia to Maryland;
!semi-retrocession, i.e., allowing qualified District residents to vote
in Maryland in federal elections for the Maryland congressional
delegation to the House and Senate;
!statehood for the District of Columbia; and
!other statutory means such as virtual-statehood, i.e., designating the
District a state for the purpose of voting representation.
In the recent past, Congress has restricted the ability of the District government
to advocate for voting representation. Several provisions have been routinely
included in District of Columbia appropriation acts prohibiting or restricting the
District’s ability to advocate for congressional representation.3
A Summary History of Legislative Options
During the 10-year period between 1790 to 1800, Virginia and Maryland
residents that ceded land that would become the permanent “Seat of the Government
of the United States” were subject to the laws for the state — including the right to
continue to vote in local, state, and national elections in their respective states —
until the national government began operations in December 1800. One year after
establishing the District of Columbia as the national capital, District residents began
seeking representation in the national legislature. As early as 1801, citizens of what
was then called the Territory of Columbia voiced concern about their political
disenfranchisement. A pamphlet published by Augustus Woodward, reportedly a
protégé of Thomas Jefferson, captured their concern:
This body of people is as much entitled to the enjoyment of the rights of
citizenship as any other part of the people of the United States. There can exist
no necessity for their disenfranchisement, no necessity for them to repose on the
mere generosity of their countrymen to be protected from tyranny, to mere
spontaneous attention for the regulation of their interests. They are entitled to4


participation in the general councils on the principles of equity and reciprocity.
3 Congresses have prohibited the D.C. government from using federal or District funds to
support lobbying for such representation. The prohibition is discussed in Appendix B of
this report.
4 Augustus Brevoort Woodward, Considerations on the Government of the Territory of
(continued...)

Congress has on numerous occasions considered legislation granting voting
representation in the national legislature to District residents, but these attempts have
failed to provide permanent voting representation for District residents.5 During the
103rd Congress (1993-1994), the District’s delegate along with delegates from the
territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, and the resident
commissioner from Puerto Rico were allowed to vote in the Committee of the Whole
under amended House rules. Although the change was challenged in court as
unconstitutional, it was upheld by the U.S. District Court in Michel v. Anderson, and
affirmed by the Court of Appeals.6 Nevertheless, the new House Republican
majority repealed the rule early in the 104th Congress. On January 24, 2007, the new
Democratic majority of the House passed a rules change (H.Res. 78) allowing
resident commissioners and delegates to vote in the Committee of the Whole, during
the 110th Congress.
Over the years, proposals to give the District voting representation in Congress
have sought to achieve their purpose through a constitutional amendment,
retrocession of part of the District back to Maryland, semi-retrocession allowing
District residents to be treated like citizens of Maryland for the purpose of voting
representation in Congress, statehood and virtual statehood that allow Congress to
define the District as a state for the purpose of voting representation in Congress.
Each is discussed below.
Constitutional Amendment
The most often-introduced proposal for voting rights has taken the form of a
constitutional amendment. Since the 1888 and 1889 resolutions, more than 150
proposals have been introduced that would have used a constitutional amendment to
settle the question of voting representation for citizens of the District. The proposals
can be grouped into six general categories:
!measures directing Congress to provide for the election of two
Senators and the number of Representatives the District would be
entitled to if it were a state;


4 (...continued)
Columbia [Paper No. I of 1801]. Quoted in Theodore Noyes, Our National Capital and Its
Un-Americanized Americans (Washington, DC: Press of Judd & Detweiler, Inc., 1951) p.

60. Hereafter cited as Woodward, quoted in Noyes.


5 Congress twice approved legislation allowing the District of Columbia to elect a non-
voting Delegate to Congress. From 1871 to 1874, Congress established a territorial form
of government for the District with the passage of 16 Stat.419. The new government
authorized the election of a non-voting delegate to represent the District in the House.
Congress abolished this arrangement in the aftermath of a fiscal crisis. In 1970, Congressst
enacted P.L. 91-405 (H.R. 18725, 91 Congress) creating the position of Delegate to the
House.
6 Michel v. Anderson, 817 F. Supp. 126 (D.D.C. 1993), affirmed, 14 F.3d 623 (D.C. Cir.

1994).



!measures directing Congress to provide for the election of one
Senator and the number of Representatives the District would be
entitled to if it were a state;
!measures directing Congress to provide for the election of at least
one Representative to the House, and, as may be provided by law,
one or more additional Representatives or Senators, or both, up to
the number the District would be entitled to if it were a state;
!measures directing Congress to provide for the election of one
voting Representative or delegate in Congress;
!measures directing Congress to provide for voting representation in
Congress without specifying the number of Representatives or
Senators; and
!measures directing Congress to provide for voting representation in
Congress for the District apportioned as if it were a state.
Initial Efforts. The idea of a constitutional amendment was first suggested in
1801, by Augustus Brevoort Woodward, in a pamphlet entitled “Considerations on
the Government of the Territory of Columbia.”7 Although not a Member of
Congress, Mr. Woodward, a landowner in the city of Washington, served as a
member of the city council of Washington. His proposal to amend the Constitution
would have entitled the District to one Senator and to a number of members in the
House of Representative proportionate to the city’s population. The proposal, which
was never formally introduced, may be found in Appendix A.
Woodward’s pamphlets, which were published between 1801 and 1803,
provided a rationale for his proposal arguing that
the people of the Territory of Columbia do not cease to be a part of the people
of the United States and as such are entitled to the enjoyment of the same rights
with the rest of the people of the United States.... It is contrary to the genius of
our constitution, it is violating an original principal of republicanism, to deny
that all who are governed by laws ought to participation in the formulation of
them.8
Woodward noted that the Senate represented the interest of sovereign states and
that no state was disadvantaged due to its population because the Constitution
granted each state an equal number of Senate votes. He acknowledged the distinction
between the Territory of Columbia and states and argued that the Territory, whose
residents were citizens of the United States, should be considered half a state and
thus entitled to one vote in the Senate. With respect to the House of Representatives,
Woodward simply contended that House Members were representatives of the
people, and that the citizens of the Territory of Columbia were therefore entitled to
representation in the House equivalent to their population and consistent with the
democratic principal of “consent of the governed.”


7 Woodward, quoted in Noyes, passim.
8 Woodward, quoted in Noyes, p. 195.

It took another eighty-seven years before the first proposed constitutional
amendment providing for voting representation in Congress for the District of
Columbia was formally introduced by Senator Henry Blair of New Hampshire.
During the 50th Congress, on April 3, 1888, Senator Blair introduced a resolution
identical in its intent to that of the Woodward proposal of 1801. The Blair proposal
was submitted on behalf of Appleton P. Clark and was accompanied by a letter which
was printed in the Congressional Record.9 On April 5, 1888, the Senate Judiciary
Committee was discharged from considering the resolution. Senator Blair
reintroduced a modified version of the proposed amendment, S.J.Res. 82, on May 15,

1888.


During the 51st Congress, Senator Blair reintroduced both proposals as S.J.Res.
11 and S.J.Res. 18. The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections responded
to both bills adversely. On September 17, 1890, Senator Blair addressed the Senate
on the subject of the District of Columbia representation in Congress. His statement
referred to many of the arguments in support of voting representation in Congress.
It admonished the Senate for what the Senator characterized as the hasty disposition
of the amendments he introduced, noting that
This [the lack of voting representation in Congress for citizens of the District] is
no trifling matter, and I verily believe that it constitutes a drop of poison in the
heart of the Republic, which, if left without its antidote, will spread virus through10
that circulation which is the life of our liberties.
In the years between 1902 and 1917, several bills proposed constitutional
amendments entitling the District to two Senators and representation in the House in
accordance with its population. Although the Senate District Committee held a
hearing on S. J. Res. 32, in 1916, the Senate took no further action on the resolution.
On January 27, 1917, Senator Chamberlain introduced S.J.Res. 196 in the 64th
Congress. The bill empowered Congress to recognize the citizens of the District as
citizens of a state for the purpose of congressional representation. The resolution
gave Congress the power to determine the structure and qualifications of the
District’s delegation, essentially allowing Congress to act as a state legislature in
conformance with Article I, Sec. 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution. Congress would
have been empowered to provide the District with one or two votes in the Senate and
such votes in the House that it would be entitled based on its population. The
resolution was noteworthy because it was the first resolution to be introduced that
would have permitted, rather than mandated that Congress grant District residents
voting representation in Congress. Between 1917 and 1931, at least 15 resolutions11


of this type were introduced.
9 Senator Henry Blair, Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. XIX, April 3,

1888, p. 2637.


10 Senator Henry Blair, Remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record , vol XXI, September

17, 1890, p. 10122.


11 Noyes, p. 207.

Continued Efforts. In March 1967, Representative Emanuel Celler, chair of
the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a legislative proposal on behalf of
President Lyndon Johnson granting District residents voting representation in
Congress. The proposal — H.J.Res. 396 — sought to authorize one voting
Representative and granted Congress the authority to provide, through legislation,
additional representation in the House and Senate, up to the number the District
would be entitled were it a state. The House Committee on the Judiciary held
hearings on the Johnson proposal, as well as others, in July and August 1967. On
October 24, 1967, the Committee reported an amended version of the resolution to
allow full voting representation for the District of Columbia: two Senators and the
number of Representatives it would be entitled if it were a state. No other action was
taken on the resolution during the 90th Congress.
In 1970, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments
held hearings on two constitutional amendments (S.J.Res. 52 and S.J.Res. 56)
granting voting representation in Congress to District residents, but did not vote on
the measures. Instead, Congress passed H.R. 18725, which became P.L. 91-405,
creating the position of nonvoting Delegate to Congress for the District in the House
of Representatives.
States Fail to Ratify Constitutional Amendment. In 1972 and 1976
constitutional amendments (H.J.Res. 253, 92nd Congress and H.J.Res. 280, 94th
Congress), introduced by the District’s Delegate to Congress, Walter Fauntroy,
granting voting representation to citizens of the District were reported to the House
Judiciary Committee. Only the 1976 proposal reached the House floor where it was
defeated by a vote 229-181. Representative Don Edwards reintroduced the proposed
constitutional amendment as H.J.Res. 554 in the 95th Congress on July 25, 1977. It
passed the House on March 2, 1978, by a 289-127 margin. On August 22, 1978, the
Senate approved the resolution by a vote of 67-32. The proposed amendment, having
been passed by at least two-thirds of each house, was sent to the states. The
amendment provided that — for the purposes of electing members of the U.S. Senate
and House of Representatives and presidential electors, and for ratifying amendments
to the U.S. Constitution — the District of Columbia would be considered as if it were
a state. Under the Constitution, a proposed amendment requires ratification by three-
fourths of the states to take effect. In addition, Congress required state legislatures
to act on ratification within seven years of its passage.12 The D.C. Voting Rights
Amendment was ratified by 16 states, but expired in 1985 without winning the
support of the requisite 38 states.
Renewed Efforts. On June 3, 1992, during the 102nd Congress,
Representative James Moran introduced H.J.Res. 501, a proposed constitutional
amendment declaring that the District, which constitutes the seat of government of
the United States, be treated as a state for purposes of representation in Congress,
election of the President and Vice President, and Article V of the Constitution, which
delineates the process for amending the Constitution. The resolution was referred to
the House Judiciary Committee, where no action was taken.


12 The seven-year period does not appear in the Constitution, but it has become customary
over time.

Retrocession
Retrocession as a remedy for achieving voting representation for District
residents was debated by Congress during the first years following the establishment
of the federal capital. Retrocession proposals typically would relinquish all but a
portion of the city of Washington to Maryland, providing voting representation for
the city residents located outside the designated federal enclave. Retrocession could
increase Maryland’s congressional delegation by at least one additional seat in the
House of Representatives and provide District residents in the newly retroceded area
with voting representation in the Senate. According to proponents, retrocession and
the concurrent creation of a federal enclave may address the constitutional provision
regarding Congress’s authority to exercise exclusive legislative control over the
federal district. If past history is a guide, retrocession would probably be contingent
upon acceptance by the state of Maryland. Although, parts of the District was
retroceded to Virginia in 1846, modern retrocession is a judicially and politically
untested proposition. (See discussion of Virginia retrocession later in this report.)
Opponents of retrocession note that the adoption of such a measure could force
Congress to consider the repeal of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution, which
grants District residents representation in the electoral college equivalent to the
number of Senators and Representatives in Congress it would be entitled to if it were
a state. If the amendment were not repealed, the net effect would be to grant a
disproportionately large role in presidential elections to a relative small population
residing in the federal enclave.
Early Debates. On February 8, 1803, Representative John Bacon of
Massachusetts introduced a motion seeking “to retrocede that part of the Territory of
Columbia that was ceded by the states of Maryland and Virginia.” The motion made
retrocession contingent on the state legislatures agreeing to the retrocession.13 During
the debate on the motion supporters of retrocession asserted that
!exclusive jurisdiction over the District was not necessary or useful
to the national government;
!exclusive control of the District deprived the citizens of the District
of their political rights;
!too much of Congress's time would be consumed in legislating for
the District, and that governing the District was too expensive;
!Congress lacked the competency to legislate for the District because
it lacked sensitivity to local concerns; and
!the District was not a representative form of government as
structured, and thus denies citizens of the nation’s capital the right
of suffrage.
On the other hand, opponents of Bacon’s retrocession proposal argued that
!the national government needed a place unencumbered by state laws;


13 Annals of Congress, 7th Cong., 2nd sess., December 6, 1803 to March 3, 1803 and
Appendix. (Washington, 1803) p. 486-491 and 494-510.

!District residents had not complained or petitioned the Congress on
the question of retrocession; and that Congress could not retrocede
the land without the consent of the citizens;
!the District might be granted representation in Congress when it
achieved sufficient population;
!the expense of administering the District would decrease over time;
!retroceding the land removed the national government of any
obligation to remain in place; and
!the cession of land and Congress’s acceptance constituted a contract
that could only be dissolved by all parties involved including the
states of Maryland and Virginia, Congress, and the people of the
District.
The Bacon motion was defeated by a vote of 66 to 26.
A year later, on March 17, 1804, Representative John Dawson introduced a
similar provision that would have retroceded all of the Virginia portion of the
Territory of Columbia to Virginia, and all but the city of Washington to Maryland.
The House postponed a vote on the resolution until December 1804. On December
31, 1804, Representative Andrew Gregg called up the motion seeking retrocession
of the District of Columbia to Virginia and Maryland. The House elected to postpone
consideration of the resolution until January 7, 1805. During three days, from
January 7 to 10, the House debated the merits of retroceding the District of Columbia
to Virginia and Maryland, excluding the city of Washington. During the debate,
concerns about the disenfranchisement of District residents and the democratic
principle of no taxation without representation clashed with efforts to create an
independent and freestanding federal territory as the seat of the national government.
The House again rejected a resolution allowing for the retroceding of Maryland and
Virginia lands.
Virginia Retrocession. In 1840 and 1841, the citizens of Alexandria sought
congressional action that would retrocede the area to Virginia. Five years later, on
July 9, 1846, the District territory that lay west of the Potomac River was retroceded
to Virginia by an act of Congress. The retroceded area represented about two-fifths
of the area originally designated as the District.
Largely because Virginia agreed to the retrocession, there was no immediate
constitutional challenge to the change. During the debate on retrocession, issues of
the constitutionality of the Virginia Retrocession Act were raised. Opponents argued
that the retrocession required the approval of a constitutional amendment. In 1869,
Representative Halbert E. Paine submitted a resolution that was referred to the
Committee on Elections and that challenged the seating of Virginia’s 7th
Congressional District’s representative, Representative Lewis McKenzie.
Representative Paine asserted that the retrocession of Alexandria was
unconstitutional and requested a review by the Committee on the Judiciary. No
action was taken.14


14 U.S. Congress, Journal of the House of Representative, 41st Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington
(continued...)

Constitutional Challenge to Virginia Retrocession. The constitutional
question concerning retrocession to Virginia was not reviewed by the Supreme Court15
until 1875. In 1875, the Supreme Court in Phillips v. Payne, rendered a decision
that allowed the retrocession to stand, but did not rule on the constitutionality of the
Virginia retrocession. The Court noted that since the parties to the retrocession (the
federal government and the state of Virginia) were satisfied with its outcome, no
third party posed sufficient standing to bring suit. In essence, retrocession was an
accepted fact, a fait accompli. On December 17, 1896, the Senate adopted a
resolution introduced by Senator James McMillan directing the Department of Justice
to determine what portion of Virginia was originally ceded to the United States for
the creation of the District of Columbia, under what legislative authority was the
Virginia portion of the District retroceded, whether the constitutionality of such
action had been judicially determined, and to render an opinion on what steps must
be taken for the District to regain the area retroceded to Virginia.16
The Attorney General of the United States, although offering no opinion on the
constitutionality of the retrocession, noted that Congress could only gain control of
the retroceded area if territory was again ceded by Virginia and accepted by17
Congress. On February 5, 1902, a joint resolution introduced in the House and
Senate (S.Res. 50) again raised the question of the constitutionality of the
retrocession of land to Virginia and directed the Attorney General of the United
States to seek legal action to determine the constitutionality of the retrocession and
to restore to the United States that portion of Virginia that was retroceded should the
retrocession be judged unconstitutional.18 On April 11, 1902, Senator George F.
Hoar, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, submitted a report to the Senate
(S.Rept. 1078) which concluded that the question of retrocession was a political one,
and not one for judicial consideration. The Committee report recommended that the
resolution be adversely reported and indefinitely postponed.19
Maryland Retrocession. From 1838 to the Civil War, a number of bills and
resolutions were introduced to retrocede part or all of the Maryland side of the
District. Some of these linked retrocession to the abolition of slavery in the Nation’s
capital. All failed to win passage. In both 1838 and 1856, Georgetown
unsuccessfully sought retrocession to the state of Maryland. On July 3, 1838, the


14 (...continued)
December 13, 1969) pp. 57-58.
15 92 U.S. 130 (1875).
16 Sen. James McMillan, “Original District of Columbia Territory,” remarks in the Senate,
Congressional Record , vol. XXIX, December 17, 1896, p. 232.
17 Amos B. Casselman, The Virginia Portion of the District of Columbia, Records of the
Columbia Historical Society, vol. 12. (Washington, read before the Society, December 6,

1909) pp. 133-135.


18 Sen. James McMillan. “Introduction of Resolution (SR 50) Regarding Constitutionality
of Virginia Retrocession,” remarks in the Senate, Congressional Record, vol. XXXV,
February 5, 1902, p. 1319.
19 U.S. Congress, Senate. “Retrocession of a Portion of the District of Columbia to
Virginia,” Congressional Record, vol. XXXV. p. 3973.

Senate also considered and tabled a motion that prevented consideration of a petition
by the citizens of Georgetown to retrocede that part of Washington County west of
Rock Creek to Maryland.20
In 1848, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois submitted a resolution directing the
District of Columbia Committee to inquire into the propriety of retroceding the
District of Columbia to Maryland. The motion was agreed to by unanimous consent.
Again, it was only a motion to study the question of retrocession. On January 22,
1849, Representative Thomas Flournoy introduced a motion that called for the
suspension of the rules to enable him to introduce a bill that would retrocede to
Maryland all of the District not occupied by public buildings or public grounds. The
motion failed. On July 16, 1856, a bill (S. 382) was introduced by Senator Albert G.
Brown directing the Committee on the District of Columbia to determine the
sentiments of the citizens of the city of Georgetown on the question of retrocession
to Maryland. The following year, on January 24, 1857, the Senate postponed further
consideration of the measure after a brief debate concerning the language of the bill
and its impact on consideration of any measure receding Georgetown to Maryland.
Modern Era. Since the 88th Congress, a number of bills have been introduced
that would retrocede all or part of the District to Maryland; none were successful.
Most involved the creation of a federal enclave, the National Capital Service Area,
comprising federal buildings and grounds under control of the federal government.th
In 1963, Representative Kyl, introduced H.R. 5564 in the 88 Congress, which was
referred to the House District of Columbia Committee, but was not reported by the
Committee. The measure would have retroceded 96% of the District to Maryland
and created a federal enclave.
On August 4, 1965, Representative Joel Broyhill of Virginia introduced ath
measure (H.R. 10264 in the 89 Congress) creating a federal enclave and retroceding
a portion of the District to Maryland. Also, in 1965, the House District of Columbia
Committee reported H.R. 10115, a bill combining the creation of a federal enclave,
the retrocession of part of the District to Maryland, and home rule provisions. The
bill was reported by the House District of Columbia Committee (H.Rept. 89-957) on
September 3, 1965. It would have allowed the creation of a federal enclave, and
retrocession of the remaining part of the city not included in the federal enclave,
contingent on the state of Maryland’s acceptance. If the Maryland legislature failed
to pass legislation accepting the retroceded area within one year, the District Board
of Election would be empowered to conduct a referendum aimed at gauging support
for the creation of a charter board or commission to determine the form of
government for the outer city. The bill provided for congressional approval of any
measure approved by the citizens of the affected area.
On October 2, 1973, H.R. 10693, introduced by Representative Edith Green,
included provisions retroceding the portion of the District ceded to the United States
by Maryland. The bill would have retained congressional control over the federal
enclave. If the retrocession provisions of the bill had been approved, Maryland


20 U.S. Congress, Congressional Globe, Sketches of Debates and Proceedings, 25th Cong.,

2nd sess, (Washington: 1838) pp. 297, 493.



would have been entitled to two additional United States Representatives for the area
retroceded until the next congressional reapportionment. The bill also provided nine
years of federal payments after retrocession to Maryland to defray expenses of
supporting a newly established local government for the retroceded area. It was
referred to the House District of Columbia Committee on October 2, 1973, but no
further action was taken.
Since the 101st Congress, eight bills have been introduced to retrocede some part
of the District to Maryland.21 The bills would have maintained exclusive legislative
authority and control by Congress over the National Capital Service Area (federal
enclave) in the District of Columbia. Like their earlier counterparts no hearings or
votes were held on these bills.
Retrocession as a strategy for achieving voting representation in Congress for
District residents arguably should address both political and constitutional issues and
obstacles. The process would require not only the approval of Congress and the
President, but also the approval of the State of Maryland and, perhaps, the voters of
the retroceded area. Although the Supreme Court reviewed the question of
retrocession in Phillips v. Payne,22 in 1875, it did not rule on its constitutionality.
Semi-Retrocession: District Residents Voting in Maryland
Short of retroceding all or a portion of the District to Maryland, a second option
would allow District residents to be treated as citizens of Maryland for the purpose
of voting in federal elections. Such an arrangement would allow District residents
to vote as residents of Maryland in elections for the House of Representatives, and
to have their vote counted in the election of the two Senators from Maryland This
semi-retrocession arrangement would allow District residents to be considered
inhabitants of Maryland for the purpose of determining eligibility to serve as a
member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, but would not change their
status regarding Congress’s exclusive legislative authority over the affairs of the
District.
The idea of semi-retrocession is reminiscent of the arrangement that existed
between 1790 to 1800, the ten-year period between the creation and occupation of the
District as the national capital. During this period residents of District residing on
the respective Maryland and Virginia sides of the territory were allowed to vote in
national elections as citizens of their respective states and in fact voted in the 1800
presidential election.
Initial Efforts. Several bills have been introduced since 1970 to allow District
residents to vote in Maryland’s congressional and presidential elections without
retroceding the area to Maryland. During the 93rd Congress, on January 30, 1973,


21 Rep. Regula has introduced a retrocession bill in every Congress since the 101st Congress.
These include H.R. 4195 (101st Congress); H.R. 1204 (102nd Congress); H.R. 1205 (103rdthth
Congress); H.R. 1028 (104th Congress); H.R. 831 (105 Congress); H.R. 558 (106thth
Congress); H.R. 810 (107 Congress); and H.R. 381 (108 Congress).
22 92 U.S. 130 (1875).

Representative Charles Wiggins introduced H.J.Res. 263, a proposed constitutional
amendment would have considered the District a part of Maryland for the purpose
of congressional apportionment and representation. Under this bill, District residents
would have been subject to all the requirements of the laws of Maryland relating to
the conduct of elections and voter qualification. The bill was referred to the House
Committee on the Judiciary where no further action was taken.
On March 6, 1990, Representative Stanford Parris introduced H.R. 4193, the
National Capital Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1990. The bill would have given
District residents the right to cast ballots in congressional elections as if they were
residents of Maryland. It also would have maintained the District’s governmental
structure, and was offered “as a workable way to change the [status quo] which
represents taxation without representation” and as an alternative to a statehood
measure, H.R. 51, introduced by Delegate Walter E. Fauntroy of the District of
Columbia.23 District officials and some members of the House, most notably
Representatives Constance Morella and Steny Hoyer, who represented the two
Maryland congressional districts adjacent to the District of Columbia, opposed the
bill. Opponents of H.R. 4193 argued that it was not a practical means of addressing
the District’s lack of voting representation in Congress and that it could further cloud
the District’s status. Both bills were referred to the House District of Columbia
Committee, but received no further action.
In defending the proposal, Representative Parris noted his opposition to
statehood for the District and offered this explanation of his proposal in a letter
published in the Washington Post on March 18, 1990.
This approach would allow the government of the District to remain autonomous
from the Maryland state government. D.C. residents would continue to vote for
a mayor and a city council, and would not participate in Maryland elections for
state positions such as delegate, state senator and governor. The reason for this
is the constitutional mandate that the nation’s capital remain under the exclusive
legislative jurisdiction of Congress.
There is an important distinction between this action and the Voting Rights
Constitutional Amendment proposed in 1978. That action, rejected by the states,
called for the election of members of Congress from the District. It did not, as
my proposal does, elect those members as part of the Maryland delegation.
There is also a distinction between this and proposals simply to turn the District
over to Maryland [retrocession]. With my proposal, there is no need to delineate
the federal enclave, and there would not be a requirement to obtain the approval
of the Maryland legislature.
I do not propose this because the push for statehood might pass; on the contrary,
I am certain that given the political and practical problems facing the District, the
unconstitutionality of statehood, and the positions taken by members of Congress
during the most recent statehood debate, that statehood would not pass.


23 H.R. 51 had 61 cosponsors in the House. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate,
S. 2647 by Sen. Kennedy with five cosponsors. H.R. 4193 had three cosponsors in the
House, but no companion bill in the Senate.

Rather, I take this action because the current injustice should be corrected, and
this proposal is the only one that takes into account the constitutional limitations
on statehood and the compelling case to restore voting rights in national elections24
to District residents.
Representative Parris contended that the proposal did not require the approval
of the Maryland legislature or a referendum vote by District citizens. The proposal
did raise questions of constitutional law, apportionment, and House procedure. It
would have provided Maryland one additional seat in the House of Representatives,
increased the size of the House temporarily until the 2000 reapportionment and
allowed the District’s Delegate to Congress to serve as a member of the House of
Representatives from Maryland until the date of the first general election occurring
after the effective date of the act.
Recent Efforts. This approach had not been reintroduced in succeeding
Congresses until the 108th Congress when Representative Dana Rohrabacher
introduced the District of Columbia Voting Rights Restoration Act of 2004, H.R.
3709. The bill was referred to the House Administration Committee, the House
Judiciary Committee, and House Committee on Government Reform, which held a
hearing on June 23, 2004. When introducing his bill, Representative Rohrabacher,
noted the purpose of this bill was to restore voting rights to District residents that
Congress severed with the passage of the Organic Act of 1801. Representative
Rohrabacher introduced a similar measure, H.R. 190, during the 109th Congress. The
bill was referred to the House Administration Committee, the Government Reform
Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution.
A similar measure has been introduced in the 110th Congress (H.R. 492). It would:
!treat District residents as Maryland voters for the purpose of federal
elections, thus allowing District voters to participate in the election
of Maryland’s delegation to the House and Senate;
!allow District residents to run for congressional and senatorial seats
in Maryland; increased the size of the House by two additional
members until reapportionment following the 2010 decennial
census;
!classify the District as a unit of local government for the purpose of
federal elections and subject to Maryland election laws;
!give one House seat to Maryland and require most, if not all, of the
city to be designated a single congressional district, as population
permits;
!direct the clerk of the House to notify the governor of the other state,
mostly likely Utah, that it is entitled to a seat based on the
apportionment report submitted to the Congress by the President in

2001;


!repeal the 23rd Amendment, which allows the District to cast three
electoral votes in presidential elections; and


24 Rep. Stanford Parris. “Voting Rights, Yes, A New Status, No.” The Washington Post
March 18, 1980. p. b8.

!allow citizens in the District to vote as Maryland residents in
elections for President and Vice President.
The bill raises several policy questions relating to state sovereignty and the
imposition of federal mandates:
!Can Congress, without the consent of the state, require the state of
Maryland to administer or supervise federal elections in the District?
!Does transferring administrative authority and associated costs for
federal elections in the District to the state of Maryland constitute an
unfunded mandate?
!Who should bear the additional cost of conducting federal elections
in the District?
! Is the proposal constitutional?
!Does the measure require an affirmative vote of the citizens of
Maryland or the Maryland legislature?
Semi-retrocession arguably rests on uncertain ground. The constitutionality of
the concept has not been tested in the courts. Semi-retrocession raises questions
relating to state sovereignty and the power of Congress to define state residency for
the purpose of voting representation in the national legislature. Further, since the
proposal does not make the District a state, it might violate Article 1, Section 2 of the
Constitution and the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1, Section 2
requires Representatives to be chosen from the states. The 14th Amendment is the
basis for the “one-person, one-vote” rule for defining and apportioning congressional
districts in the states.
Statehood
In the past, statehood has been granted by a simple majority vote in the House
and the Senate and the approval of the President. However, according to some
scholars, the District’s unique status raises constitutional questions about the use of
this statutory method to achieve statehood. Article IV, Section 3, of the Constitution
identifies certain requirements for admission to the Union as a state. The Article
states that
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State
shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any
State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or Parts of the States,
without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the
Congress.
Some opponents of statehood contend that this article implies that the consent
of Maryland would be necessary to create a new state out of its former territory.
They note that Maryland ceded the land for the creation of a national capital. This
could raise a constitutional question concerning whether Maryland could object to



the creation of another state out of territory ceded to the Untied States for the creation
of the national seat of government, the District of Columbia. In addition, it could be
argued that the granting of statehood for the District would violate Article I, Section

8, Clause 17, which gives Congress exclusive legislative control of the District.


Because of these constitutional issues, most statehood proposals for the District have
sought to achieve statehood through the constitutional amendment process.
Granting statehood to the District of Columbia would settle the question of
congressional representation for District residents. A ratified constitutional
amendment granting statehood to the District would entitle the District to full voting
representation in Congress. As citizens of a state, District residents would elect two
Senators and at least one Representative, depending on population.
Modern History. In 1983, when it became evident that H.J.Res. 554 — a
proposed constitutional amendment granting voting rights to District residents —
would fail to win the 38 state votes needed for ratification, District leaders embraced
the concept of statehood for the District of Columbia. The statehood effort, however,
can be traced back to1921.25 Statehood legislation in Congress has centered aroundst
making the non-federal land in the District the nation’s 51 state. Several supporters
of voting representation in Congress for District residents believe that statehood is
the only way for citizens of the District to achieve full congressional representation.
Since 1983, there has been a continuing effort to bring statehood to the District
— an effort that was most intense from 1987 through 1993. Since the 98th26
Congress, 13 statehood bills have been introduced. On two occasions, House bills
were reported out of the committee of jurisdiction, resulting in one floor vote. D.C.th
Delegate Walter E. Fauntroy introduced H.R. 51, 100 Congress, in 1987 to create
a state that would have encompassed only the non-federal land in the District of
Columbia. While the bill was reported out of the House District of Columbia
Committee, no vote was taken on the House floor. On a second statehood bill, H.R.rd

51, introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in the 103 Congress, in 1993,


the measure was reported from the Committee on the District of Columbia, and a vote
was taken on the House floor on November 21, 1993, with a tally of 277-153 against
passage.


25 In November and December 1921, and January 1922, during the 67th Congress, the Senate
held hearings on S.J.Res. 133, which would have granted statehood to the District.
26 In the 98th Congress, Del. Fauntroy introduced H.R. 3861 on September 12, 1983, and
Sen. Kennedy introduced S. 2672 on May 15, 1984. In the 99th Congress, Del. Fauntroy
introduced H.R. 325 on January 3, 1985; Sen. Kennedy introduced S. 293 on January 24,th

1985. In the 100 Congress, Del. Fauntroy introduced H.R. 51 on January 6, 1987; Sen.st


Kennedy introduced S. 863 on March 26, 1987. In the 101 Congress, Del. Fauntroy
introduced H.R. 51 on January 3, 1989; Sen. Kennedy introduced S. 2647 on May 17, 1990.nd
In the 102 Congress, Del. Norton introduced H.R. 2482 on May 29, 1991; Sen. Kennedyrd
introduced S. 2023 on November 22, 1991. In the 103 Congress, Del. Norton introducedth
H.R. 51 on January 5, 1993; Sen. Kennedy introduced S. 898 on May 5, 1993. In the 104
Congress, Del. Norton introduced H.R. 51 on January 4, 1995.

Other Statutory Means
On July 14, 1998, during the 105th Congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton
introduced H.R. 4208, a bill providing full voting representation in Congress for the
District of Columbia. The bill was referred to the Committee on Judiciary,
Subcommittee on the Constitution, where no action was taken. The bill was
noteworthy in that it did not prescribe methods by which voting representation was
to be obtained such as a constitutional amendment. Nor did the Norton bill include
language typically found in other measures that defined or declared the District a
state for the purpose of voting representation in Congress. The measure suggested
that Congress might provide voting representation by statute, a constitutionally
untested proposition.
During the 109th Congress two bills were introduced that sought to provide
voting representation to the citizens of the District of Columbia by eschewing
methods used in the past such as a constitutional amendment, retrocession, semi-
retrocession and statehood. The bills would have provided District citizens with
voting rights in Congress by designating the District as a state (virtual statehood) or
by designating the District as a congressional district.
Virtual Statehood. Much of the latest thinking on securing voting rights for
citizen’s of the District centers on the premise that Congress has the power to define
the District as a state for the purpose of granting voting representation. Proponents
of virtual statehood note that the District is routinely identified as a state for the
purpose of intergovernmental grant transfers, that Congress's authority to define the
District as a state under other provisions of the Constitution has withstood Court
challenges,27 and that Congress has passed legislation allowing citizens of the United
States residing outside the country to vote in congressional elections in their last state
of residence.28 They also note that the Constitution gives Congress exclusive
legislative control over the affairs of the District and thus the power to define the
District as a state. Opponents argue that the District lacks the essential elements of
statehood, principally an autonomous state legislature, charged with setting the time,
place and manner for holding congressional elections.
During the 109th Congress Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Senator Joseph
Lieberman introduced identical bills in the House and Senate (H.R. 398/S. 195: No
Taxation Without Representation Act of 2005) that would have treated the District
as a state for the purpose of congressional representation. In addition, the bill would
have
!given the District one Representative with full voting rights until the
next reapportionment;
!granted full voting representation to District citizens, allowing them
the right to elect two Senators, and as many Representatives as the


27 See Stoutenburg v. Hennick, 129 U.S. 141 (1889) (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 3 — Commerce
Clause); Callan v. Wilson, 127 U.S. 540, 548 (1988) (Sixth Amendment — District residents
are entitled to trial by jury).
28 The Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 100 Stat. 924.

District would be entitled to based on its population following
reapportionment;
!permanently increased the size of the House from 435 to 436 for the
purpose of future reapportionment.
The proposal raised several questions, chief among them, whether Congress has
the legal authority to give voting representation to District residents. The bill
differed significantly from the other measures introduced in during the 109th
Congress. H.R. 398 would have provided citizens of the District with voting
representation in both the House and the Senate, unlike the other measures which
would provide representation only in the House.
Congressional District (H.R 1433). On March 13, 2007, the House
Government Oversight and Reform Committee ordered reported H.R. 1433, the
District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007. The measure supersedes
H.R. 328, which was introduced earlier in the 110th Congress. The bill includes a
controversial provision that was not included in H.R. 328, namely, the temporary
creation of an at-large congressional district for the state most likely to gain an
additional representative. That state, Utah, approved a fourth congressional district
in December 2006. H.R. 1433 would
!designate the District of Columbia as a congressional district for the
purpose of granting the city voting representation in the House of
Representative; and
!permanently increased the number of members of the House of
Representative from 435 to 437. One of the two additional seats
would be occupied by a Representative of the District of Columbia;
the other would be elected at large from the state of Utah based on
2000 decennial census of the population and apportionment
calculations which placed Utah in the 436 position. This is one seat
short of the 435 seats maximum size of the House. (For information
on the impact of the 2000 Population Census on the apportionment
process, see CRS Report RS20768, House Apportionment 2000:
States Gaining, Losing, and on the Margin; and CRS Report
RS22579, District of Columbia Representation: Effect on House
Apportionment, both by Royce Crocker.)
The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which approved the
bill by a vote of 24-5, considered several amendments, but adopted only one. The
amendment, which was sponsored by Representative Westmoreland and approved
by voice vote, would prohibit the District from being considered as a state for the
purpose of representation in the Senate. Other amendments that were offered or
ruled non-germane by the chair included measures that would have ceded the District
back to Maryland, required the ratification of a constitutional amendment giving
Congress the power to grant the District voting rights in the House, and nullified the
bill if there was not partisan balance in the added representation.
On March 15, 2007, the bill was also marked up and ordered reported by a vote
of 21-13 by the House Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on the



constitutionality of the bill a day earlier. The committee considered and rejected a
number of amendments to the measure, including the following:
!a provision calling for expedited judicial review in the likely event
of a court challenge to the bill’s constitutionality,
!a provision allowing Utah’s state legislature to decide if the state’s
additional representative would be elected at-large or by
congressional district, and
!a provision allowing for congressional representation of all military
bases with populations of 10,000 or more.
H.R. 1433 is the most recent in a long series of efforts aimed at giving District
residents voting representation in Congress, a series that extends back to 1801.
During the 109th Congress, when a similar measure (H.R. 5388) was being
considered by the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, the creation of an at-
large congressional district for Utah was cited as a hurdle to the bill being reported
out of the subcommittee. These concerns were raised anew during the House
Judiciary Committee hearing on March 14, 2007, and during the markup of the bill
the following day. The proposed creation of an at-large congressional district for
Utah is not without precedent. According to the Historical Atlas of United States
Congressional Districts the use of at-large congressional districts lasted from the 33rd
Congress (1853-1855) to the 89th Congress (1965-1967). Such districts were used
for one of several reasons. The state legislature
!could not convene in time to redistrict,
!could not agree upon a new redistricting plan,
!decided not to redistrict, or
!decided to use this method as a part of its new redistricting
plan. 29
The idea of an at-large District raised questions about the measure’s
constitutionality. In response, on December 4, 2006, the Utah legislature approved
by a vote of 23 to 4 in the Senate and 51 to 9 in the House, a redistricting map
creating a 4th congressional district for the state. The move was seen by supporters
of voting rights for the District as removing a significant impediment to the bill’s
consideration by the full House of Representatives during the 109th Congress.
However, a floor vote on the measure was not possible before the 109th Congress
adjourned following the 2006 congressional elections.
H.R. 1433, House Floor Action. On March 22, 2007, the House began
consideration of H.R. 1433. A House vote on the bill was postponed after
Representative Smith of Texas offered a motion to recommit the bill to the House
Oversight and Government Reform Committee for consideration of an amendment
that would have repealed substantial portions of the city’s gun control law, the


29 Kenneth C. Martis. Congressional Districts in The Historical Atlas of United States
Congressional Districts: 1789-1993 (New York, NY, The Free Press, 1982) p. 5.

Firearms Control Regulation Act of 1975.30 The act requires all firearms within the
District be registered and all owners be licensed, and it prohibits the registration of
handguns after September 24, 1976. The proposed amendment to H.R. 1433 would
!limit the Council’s authority to regulate firearms;
!define machine guns to include any firearm that can shoot more than
one shot by a single function of the trigger;
!amend the gun registration requirements so that they do not apply to
handguns, but only to sawed-off shotguns, machine guns, and short-
barreled rifles;
!remove restrictions on ammunition possession;
!repeal requirements that DC residents keep firearms in their
possession unloaded and disassembled, or bound by a trigger lock;
!repeal firearm registration requirements generally; and
!repeal certain criminal penalties for possessing unregistered firearms
or carrying unlicensed handguns.31
The proposed repeal of the District’s gun control law is seen by city leaders as
an attack on the city’s home rule prerogatives. Supporters of the provision frame it
as a Second Amendment issue arguing that the District’s Firearms Control
Regulation Act infringes on the constitutional guarantee to gun ownership. This
position was bolstered by a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Court of Appeals). On March 9, 2007, in
Parker v District of Columbia32 the DC Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, reversed
a D.C. District Court decision33 upholding the District’s gun control ban. The Court
of Appeals’ decision, which the District plans to appeal, struck down the District’s

32-year-old gun control act, declaring it unconstitutional.


H.R. 1905. On April 19, 2007, nearly a month after H.R. 1433 was withdrawn
from floor consideration, a new bill, H.R. 1905, granting voting rights to the District
was brought to the floor under a closed rule (H.Res. 317). The rule restricted the
ability of Members to offer amendments and tied passage of the bill to another bill,
H.R. 1906, that would provide a $3 million revenue tax offset to cover the cost of
adding the two additional seats to the House as contemplated by H.R. 1905. Passage
of H.R. 1906 is intended to honor the PAYGO requirements put in place by the
House. During floor consideration of the bill, Representative English termed the
measure, H.R. 1906, a tax gimmick that does not not honor the PAYGO pledge.34
The House approved H.R. 1905 by a vote of 241 to 177 (Roll vote 231), and H.R.


30 D.C. Code § 7-2501.01
31 The proposed amendment includes the identical language as that of H.R. 1399, the District
of Columbia Personal Protection Act. Similar legislation was introduced in the 109thth
Congress (H.R. 1288 and S. 1082) and the 108 Congress (H.R. 3193).
32 Parker v. District of Columbia, 04-7041 (2007)
33 300 F. Supp. 2d 103 (D.D.C. 2004).
34 Rep. Phil English, remarks in the House, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153,
April 19, 2007, p. H3594.

1906 by a vote of 216 to 203 (Roll vote 232). Consistent with H.Res. 317, the
language of H.R. 1906 was included in H.R. 1905.
H.R. 1905, which is a shortened version of H.R. 1433, would:
!permanently increase the number of members in the House of
Representatives from 435 to 437 starting with the 110th Congress;
!designate the District of Columbia a congressional district for
purposes of voting representation in the House and limit the District
to no more than one representative in the House; and
!require that one of the two additional seats be occupied by a
Representative of the District of Columbia; the other would be
temporarily elected at large from the state of Utah based on the 2000
decennial and would remain in place until the 2012 apportionment
process.
In addition, the act includes a nonseverability provision which would void the entire
act if any part of the act is declared invalid, unenforceable or unconstitutional.
In order to limit the scope of the bill, H.R. 1905 does not include several
provisions included in H.R. 1433. Most notably, the bill does not include language
that would:
!prohibit the District from being considered a state for the purpose of
Senate representation;
!require the two new representatives to be seated on the same date;
and
!repeal provisions of the District of Columbia Delegate Act of 1970,
P.L. 91-405, relating to the election, privileges, and qualifications of
the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of
Columbia.
S. 1257. On June 28, 2007, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs reported the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of

2007. Like H.R. 1905, S. 1257 would: permanently increase the size of the Houseth


from 435 to 437 starting with the 111 Congress; designate the District of Columbia
a congressional district for the purposes of voting representation in the House of
Representatives; add a fourth congressional seat for Utah, the next state in line to
increase its representation based on the 2000 Census; and include a nonseverability
provision that voids the entire act if any part of the act is declared invalid,
unenforceable or unconstitutional.
Unlike the bill approved by the House, the Senate measure includes provisions
that would:
!prohibit the District from being considered a state for the purpose of
Senate representation;
!require the two new representatives (one from the District and one
from Utah) to be seated on the same date;



!require the new representative from the State of Utah to be elected
based on a redistricting plan enacted by the state;
!require that the newly created congressional district in Utah remain
in effect until the first reapportionment occurring after the 2010
decennial census;
!repeal provisions of the District of Columbia Delegate Act of 1970,
P.L. 91-405, relating to the election, privileges, and qualifications of
the Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of
Columbia;
!abolish the office of the District of Columbia Statehood
Representative; and
!allow for expedited judicial review by the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme
Court if the constitutionality of any provision of the act is
challenged.
On September 18, 2007, the Senate began the process of bringing the bill to the
Senate floor for a vote. A cloture motion limiting debate was introduced but failed
to win the 60 votes necessary to prevent a filibuster of the bill. The failed cloture
vote forced supporters to indefinitely delay further Senate consideration of S. 1257.
Statement of Administration Policy. On March 20, 2007, the Bush
Administration announced its opposition to H.R. 1433. The statement noted that the
President may veto the bill should it reach his desk. The Administration’s statement
outlined its constitutional objections to the bill noting that (1) the bill violates Article
1, Section 2 of the Constitution, which limits representation in the House to
representatives of states; (2) the District Clause is qualified by other provisions of the
Constitution, including the Article I requirement that representatives of the House are
to be elected by the people of the several states; and (3) it believes that voting
representation for the District can only be achieved by constitutional amendment.
Analysis
Over the two hundred year history of the Republic, citizens of the District of
Columbia have sought political and judicial redress in their efforts to secure voting
representation in Congress. In 2000, the Supreme Court affirmed a decision by a
three-judge panel of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia in
the case of Adams v. Clinton,35 which rejected a petition from District residents
seeking judicial redress in their effort to secure voting representation in the national
legislature. The Court ruled that District residents did not have a constitutional right
to voting representation in Congress, but Congress has the power to grant voting
rights to District residents through the political process including options outlined in
this report.


35 90 F. Supp. 2d 35 (D.D.C.2000), affirmed sub nom. Alexander v. Mineta, 531 U.S. 940
(2000)(cites to later proceedings omitted).

Any of the options outlined in this report must be able to withstand political and
constitutional challenges. Some, such as a constitutional amendment or retrocession
are more problematic than others. Others such as statehood, which can be achieved
by statute, may trigger other constitutional issues. All must overcome what some
observers consider conflicting provisions of the Constitution. Namely, Art. 1, Sec.
2, of the Constitution which states that the House of Representative shall be
composed of members chosen every two years by the people of the several states and
Art. 1, Sec. 8, Clause 17 which conveys exclusive legislative authority in all cases
whatsoever over the affairs of the District of Columbia.
It can be argued that, given the District’s unique status as the seat of the national
government and a strict reading of the Constitution, the only fail-safe avenues that
exist to provide District residents voting rights in the national legislature are a
constitutional amendment or statehood, which could be achieved by statute. The
former — a constitutional amendment — offers a degree of finality and permanence
in settling the question of District voting representation in the national legislature, but
the process of winning approval of such an amendment is by no means easy. To be
successful, proponents of a constitutional amendment in support of District voting
rights must win the support of
!two-thirds majority in both Houses of Congress. The amendment
must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 states) in a
state convention or by a vote of the state legislatures; or
!two-thirds of the state legislatures may call for a Constitutional
Convention for the consideration of one or more amendments to the
Constitution. If approved, the amendments must be ratified by
three-fourths of the states (38 states) in a state convention or by a
vote of the state legislatures.
The amendment process could take years and prove unsuccessful, as was the
case with the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment of 1978, which was ratified by 16
states, but expired in 1985 without winning the support of the requisite 38 states.
Retrocession, the ceding of part of the District back to Maryland, has not been
fully tested in the courts. Retrocession as a strategy for achieving voting
representation in Congress for District residents arguably should address both
political and constitutional issues and obstacles. Given the Virginia experience, the
process would require not only the approval of Congress and the President, but also
the approval of the State of Maryland and, perhaps, the voters of the retroceded area.
Although the Supreme Court reviewed the question of retrocession in Phillips v.
Payne,36 in 1876, it did not rule on its constitutionality. Moreover, retrocession
would require some portion of the District to remain a federal enclave in
conformance with Article 1, Sec. 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution, which requires
Congress to exercise exclusive legislative control over the “Seat of the Government
of the United States.”


36 92 U.S. 130 (1875).

Semi-retrocession bills would result in a unique arrangement between citizens
of the District of Columbia and Maryland. Such bills would allow District residents
to vote in Maryland congressional elections based in part on the theory of residual
citizenship, that is the idea that District residents retained residual rights as citizens
of Maryland, including voting rights after the land creating District was ceded to the
federal government. The theory was rejected by the Supreme Court. In Albaugh v.
Tawes,37 the Supreme Court rejected the contention that District residents retained
residual rights as citizens of Maryland, specifically, the right to vote in Maryland.
The case involved a Republican candidate who lost the nomination election for the
United States Senate. The candidate, William Albaugh, filed suit seeking a judgment
declaring the District a part of Maryland and ordering Maryland state officials (the
Governor and the Secretary of State ) to declare the primary and any future elections
voided because District residents did not vote. The Court held that District residents
had no right to vote in Maryland elections.
Statehood is a much simpler process, but it is no less politically sensitive.
Article IV of the Constitution gives Congress the power to admit new states into the
Union. The Article does not prescribe the method, and the process has varied over
time. Congress could by statute, convey statehood to some portion of the District.
It must be noted that if Congress conveyed statehood on what is now the District, a
portion of the District would have to remain a federal enclave since Article I, Sec. 8,
Clause 17, of the Constitution requires a portion of the District, not exceeding ten
square miles, to be maintained as the “Seat of Government of the United States.”
The statehood option should include Congress introducing a constitutional
amendment repealing the 23rd Amendment granting District residents three votes in
the Electoral College. Observers argue that if the amendment is not repealed it could
result in conveying significant political power in presidential elections to the few
District residents remaining in the federal enclave.
Bills that would convey voting rights to the District Delegate to Congress by
defining the District as a state (virtual- statehood and other means) may conflict with
Article I, Sec. 2, of the Constitution which conveys voting rights to representatives
of the several states. Despite the constraints of Article 1, Sec. 2, advocates of voting
rights for District residents contend that the District Clause (Art. 1, Sec. 8) gives
Congress the power to define the District as a state. As Congress has never granted
the Delegate from the District of Columbia a vote in the full House or Senate, the
constitutionality of such legislation has not been before the courts. In general
however, courts such as the three-judge panel in Adams v. Clinton38 have not looked
favorably upon the argument that the District of Columbia should be considered a
state for purposes of representation in the Congress. Some commentators have
suggested that Congress, acting under its authority over the District, has the power
to confer such representation.39 Other commentators, however, have disputed this


37 379 U.S. 27 (1964).
38 90 F. Supp. 2d 35 (D.D.C.2000), affirmed sub nom. Alexander v. Mineta, 531 U.S. 940
(2000).
39 See, e.g., Viet Dinh and Adam H. Charnes, The Authority of Congress to Enact
Legislation to Provide the District of Columbia with Voting Representation in the House of
(continued...)

argument.40 In addition, District voting rights proponents can point to the Uniform
and Overseas Citizens Absentees Voting Act, as an example of Congress's authority
to provide voting rights to citizens who are not residents of a state. A full analysis
of these legal arguments can be found at CRS Report RL33824, The Constitutionality
of Awarding the Delegate for the District of Columbia a Vote in the House of
Representatives or the Committee of the Whole, by Kenneth R. Thomas.


39 (...continued)
Representatives 9 (2004) [report submitted to the House Committee on Government
Reform)available at D.C. Vote Website at [http://www.dcvote.org
/pdfs/congress/vi etdinh112004.pdf.]
40 See, e.g., District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2006, before
the Subcommittee on the Constitution, H.R. 5388, 109th Cong., 2nd sess. 61 (testimony of
Professor Jonathon Turley).

Appendix A: Woodward Proposal
Resolved that the following be recommended to the Legislatures of the several states
as an Article in addition to, and amendment of the constitution of the United States.
ARTICLE
The Territory of Columbia shall be entitled to one Senator in the Senate of the
United States; and to a number of members in the House of Representatives
proportionate to its population. Before it shall have attained a population
sufficient to entitle it to one representative it shall be entitled to a member, who
shall have the right to deliberate and receive pay, but not to vote. It shall also be
entitled to one elector for a President and Vice President of the United States,
until it shall have attained a sufficient population to entitle it to one
representative, and then it shall be entitled to an additional elector for every41


representative.
41 Woodward, Proposed Constitutional Amendment of 1801, quoted in Noyes, p. 204.

Appendix B: Anti-Lobbying Provisions in D.C.
Appropriations Acts
Congress has restricted the ability of the Government of the District of Columbia
to lobby for voting representation. For several years, the general provisions of annual
appropriation acts for the District have prohibited D.C. Government from using
federal or District funds to lobby for voting representation, including statehood.
Most recently, P.L. 109-115 — the Departments of Transportation, Treasury,
Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Office
of President, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006 — prohibits the
use of District and federal funds to support lobbying activities aimed at securing
statehood or voting representation for citizens of the District. In addition, the act
specifically prohibits the District of Columbia Corporation Counsel or any other
officer or entity of the District government from providing assistance for any petition
drive or civil action seeking to require Congress provide for voting representation in
Congress for the District of Columbia. The act also prohibits the use of District and
federal funds to finance the salaries, expenses, or other costs associated with the
offices of Statehood Representative for District of Columbia and Statehood
Senator.42
In 2005, the District passed legislation that some analysts consider a
circumvention of Congress's prohibition on the use of District funds to advocate for
voting representation in Congress for citizens of the District of Columbia. On July
6, 2005, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously approved the “Fiscal
Year 2006 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2005” (A16-0168). The act included
as subtitle F of Title I, the “Support for Voting Rights Educational-Informational


42 P.L. 109-115 includes three specific provisions prohibiting or restricting the District’s
ability to lobby for voting representation in Congress. They are as follows: “Sec. 104. (a)
Except as provided in subsection (b), no part of this appropriation shall be used for publicity
or propaganda purposes or implementation of any policy including boycott designed to
support or defeat legislation pending before Congress or any State legislature. (b) The
District of Columbia may use local funds provided in this title to carry out lobbying
activities on any matter other than — (1) the promotion or support of any boycott; or (2)
statehood for the District of Columbia or voting representation in Congress for the District
of Columbia. (c) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit any elected official
from advocating with respect to any of the issues referred to in subsection (b).”
“Sec. 110. None of the Federal funds provided in this act may be used by the District of
Columbia to provide for salaries, expenses, or other costs associated with the offices of
United States Senator or United States Representative under section 4(d) of the District of
Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiatives of 1979 (D.C. Law 3 — 171;
D.C. Official Code, section 1 — 123).”
“Sec. 115. (a) None of the funds contained in this act may be used by the District of
Columbia Corporation Counsel or any other officer or entity of the District government to
provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require Congress to
provide for voting representation in Congress for the District of Columbia. (b) Nothing in
this section bars the District of Columbia Corporation Counsel from reviewing or
commenting on briefs in private lawsuits, or from consulting with officials of the District
government regarding such lawsuits.”

Activities Emergency Act of 2005,” which appropriated $1 million in local funds to
the Executive Office of the Mayor to support “educational and informational
activities to apprise the general pubic of the lack of voting rights in the United Sates
Congress for District residents.”43 Language of the act aimed at drawing a distinction
between “educational and informational activities” and advocacy activities in support
voting rights for District residents. In fact, Section 1026(b) of the act prohibits funds
from being used to support lobbying activities in support of voting rights for District
residents. On April 5, 2006, the Mayor identified three entities who received a share
of the $1 million to be used to conduct voter education activities. They included DC
Vote ($500,000), The League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia
($200,00) and Our Nation’s Capital ($300,000).


43 Section 1026, Subtitle F, Title I of A16-0168. Text available at
[http://www.dccouncil.washingt on.dc.us/images/00001/20050726174031.pdf].