Email from Sen. Bob Casey Jr
Dear Mr. Masters:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about S. 160, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.
The District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 was introduced in the Senate on January 6, 2009. This bill grants the District of Columbia one voting representative in the House of Representatives and simultaneously requires Utah to create an additional congressional district, thereby granting Utah an additional representative in the House and bringing the total number of members in that body to 437. Both seats would be filled through elections in the fall of 2010. S. 160 does not alter the membership of the Senate in any way.
Some critics of the legislation have questioned the constitutionality of giving the District a voting representative on the grounds that the District is not a state. Other legal scholars argue that the bill is in fact constitutional and consistent with the District Clause of the Constitution, which grants Congress the power to exercise legislative authority over all matters related to the District. In the event that a legal challenge is filed after the bill is signed into law, it will receive expedited judicial review pursuant to a provision in the bill itself.
Before deciding how to vote on this legislation, I carefully considered all legal opinions, as well as the historic struggle for representation in Congress of the citizens of the District of Columbia. Moreover, I listened to the views of my constituents. During consideration of the bill on the Senate floor, a number of amendments were introduced including an amendment sponsored by Senator Ensign which bans the District from prohibiting an individual from possessing firearms and repeals certain District laws barring possession of semiautomatic firearms. As a supporter of Second Amendment rights, I voted in favor of this amendment and it was agreed to by a vote of 62-36. On February 26, 2009, I voted in favor the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, as amended. The measure was agreed to with 61 Senators voting in favor of the bill and 37 voting against. Upon passage in the Senate, the bill was sent to the House of Representatives where it is currently being considered.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator