| Page 2 of 2 < |
Sworn In and Ready for Battle
Reprising her swearing-in, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is joined by D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, left, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, daughter Katherine Norton, family friend Bermel Howard, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray and son John Norton.
(By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
In fact, Pelosi is a co-sponsor of a bill, championed last year by Norton and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), that would create two additional House seats -- one for the District, which is overwhelmingly Democratic, and one for heavily Republican Utah.
Davis and Norton expect to reintroduce that measure in the next few days.
The bill got significant bipartisan support in the last Congress but never moved far enough along for a full vote. Many political observers believe Pelosi and some other Democrats are cool toward the measure, because it would almost certainly add another Republican to Congress as well as another electoral vote for Utah.
Norton said Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the new House majority leader, has promised to offer a resolution in the next few weeks changing the House rules to give her slightly expanded voting powers.
The rule change would allow her to vote in the "committee of the whole," which handles most major House votes -- except on the final passage of legislation. Norton had such voting power from 1993 to 1995, when Republicans eliminated it.
The rule change, though, comes with a restriction, as it did the last time Norton won it: If the D.C. delegate casts the deciding vote, other legislators can nullify the decision and request a new vote, without Norton's participation.
Stacey F. Bernards, a spokeswoman for Hoyer, said that both he and Pelosi support the rule change to benefit the D.C. delegate as well as full voting rights for the District.
"We are working to achieve both of those goals quickly," she said in a statement.
For his part, Fenty was taking no chances. Making the rounds of Congress, he buttonholed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and as many other legislators as he could find to press for the D.C. vote bill.
"Everyone's here. Everyone's getting sworn in," he smiled. "It's a great opportunity for me."
