House Vote on D.C. Seat Thwarted

Democrats, who recently won control of Congress, have made a priority of giving a vote to the mostly African American city. In floor speeches yesterday, they described it as an issue of fairness, linking it to laws and court decisions that gave blacks full rights.

Opponents said the bill violated Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, which reserves representation to the House to people "of the several States."

"The Constitution is not a cafeteria. You can't pick and choose which parts you're going to respect and which parts you're going to ignore," said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.).

Supporters of the bill cite another section of the Constitution: the "District Clause," which gives Congress sweeping powers over the city's affairs.

"Those opposing this bill ignore 200 years of case law and clear instructions from the court that this is a congressional matter and requires a congressional solution," Davis said in his floor speech.

Although Democrats accused their opponents of playing a partisan trick, it appeared that the majority party inadvertently provided the loophole that Republicans exploited, congressional staffers said.

Normally, the pro-gun language proposed by Republicans would be ruled as not germane, they said. But in fine-tuning the bill before it went to the floor, Democrats inserted language on funding the two new representatives. That allowed a wider variety of amendments to be attached.

"The Democrats were, unfortunately, outmaneuvered," said an aide to a congressman supportive of the bill.

Nelson Rimensnyder, a Capitol Hill resident, was among those avidly following the debate in the House visitors' gallery.

"This is history," said the retiree, a D.C. flag pin on his blazer. But later, as he strained to follow the reasons for postponing a vote, he learned that history would have to wait.

"This is weird," he said, his face a mix of fatigue and confusion.

Staff writer Paul Schwartzman and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.