Judiciary Committee Hearing on the DC Voting Rights Act

Following a strong 25-4 victory in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on March 13, 2007, the DC Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1433) was the topic of a House Judiciary Committee Hearing on March 14, 2007. Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) made the following opening statement:

Chairman Conyers' statement (PDF 74 kb)

Witnesses at the hearing successfully identified the political and legal issues surrounding the bill. Everyone attending the hearing agreed that there were no moral arguments against giving DC residents voting representation. There was no question that DC residents are American citizens deserving of equal rights, and no one believed that the Framers of the Constitution intended to deny equal rights to those Americans who would reside in the nation's capital.

Witness List and Written Testimony:

Viet D. Dinh
Professor of Law and Co-Director Asian Law & Policy Studies Georgetown University Law Center
Read the testimony (PDF 136 kb)

Bruce V. Spiva
Partner, Spiva & Hartnett, LLP
Read the testimony (PDF 173 kb)

Jonathan Turley
Professor of Law George Washington University Law School
Read the testimony (PDF 325 kb)

Richard P. Bress
Partner, Latham & Watkins, LLP
Read the testimony (PDF 19 kb)

Also, read a letter from the American Bar Association to Chairman Conyers supporting the DC Voting Rights Act (H.R. 1433). (PDF 317 kb)

In a Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing in September 2006, legal scholars and lawmakers expressed unanimous agreement that denying DC residents a vote in Congress is a problem that must be corrected. The DC Voting Rights Act also passed the House Committee on Government Reform in May 2006, with overwhelming bipartisan support and a vote of 29-4.

The DC Voting Rights Act maintains momentum from strong bipartisan support and two committee hearings in the 109th Congress.

DC Vote worked closely with members of Congress, committee staff and coalition partners on the DC Voting Rights Act, the bipartisan consensus bill sponsored by Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).

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