Rally calls for D.C. vote in Congress - Yahoo! News

Rally calls for D.C. vote in Congress - Yahoo! News: "Rally calls for D.C. vote in Congress " By LUBNA TAKRURI, Associated Press Writer Tue Apr 17, 12:00 AM ET WASHINGTON - The mayor and members of the City Council joined demonstrators as they rallied outside the nation's Capitol on Monday to demand that the district get full representation in the U.S. House. Despite light rain and fierce winds, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (news, bio, voting record), D-D.C., the district's nonvoting House member, Mayor Adrian Fenty and council members joined marchers in chants of "free D.C." and "we demand a vote." DC Vote, an advocacy group that has led years of efforts to get full representation, estimated that 2,000 protesters walked a half mile to the Capitol Reflecting Pool from city hall for the rally. D.C. police do not give crowd estimates. The call for giving the district a House seat has been gaining momentum with bipartisan support in Congress for a bill sponsored by Norton. Norton, who currently can vote only in committee, said she would gain a vote on the full House floor if the bill passes and she wins a special election, as expected. The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., seeks to increase the number of House representatives from 435 to 437 by adding a seat for the mostly Democratic district and balancing it out with a seat for Republican-heavy Utah. Congress is expected to debate the measure again this week, but it has an uncertain future in the Senate and faces opposition from the White House. Opponents call the bill unconstitutional because votes in Congress are reserved for the states, and D.C. is not a state.