DC to get voting rights?

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2707694

Bill would give D.C., Utah seats in House
By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON - Utah is the most Republican state in the country, while residents in Washington, D.C., are overwhelmingly Democratic.
But elected officials from both areas say Washington's chances of getting its first House seat are tied directly to Utah getting its fourth, and threw their support Tuesday behind a bill that seeks to increase their clout in Congress.
Virginia Rep. Tom Davis reintroduced his proposal to expand the House of Representatives to 437 members, giving Washington a House member and maintaining partisan balance by adding a seat in Republican-dominated Utah.
Â"The state of Utah is looking at this very selfishly, I admit that,Â" said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, a co-sponsor of the bill. Â"We thought we should have got a fourth seat last time and we would be happy to get a fourth seat this time.Â"
Similar legislation failed to make it out of committee last year, but Davis says he has rallied support and is hopeful his measure will pass.
Â"We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars to bring democracy to Baghdad,Â" he said. Â"What are we doing to bring democracy to our own capital?Â"
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams said the ultimate goal remains full representation - two senators and a House seat - in Congress, but Davis' bill is a first step toward that objective.
President Bush has opposed other proposals to give D.C. representation in Congress, but Davis is hopeful a strong show of support from Congress would persuade Bush to sign it into law. Davis plans to begin holding hearings on the bill next month.
Utah

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Rep. Chris Cannon, who is also a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that it could ultimately hurt Republicans to add a solid Democratic seat that is only offset temporarily with Utah's Republican seat.
Â"If we were looking at this issue as a partisan issue, that's the appropriate response, but this isn't a partisan issue,Â" Cannon said. Â"We need to start giving the vote to people who haven't had the vote in the District of Columbia, and that's the right thing to do, not the partisan thing to do.Â"
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has not endorsed Davis' legislation, but his spokeswoman, Alyson Heyrend, said he is supportive of giving Washington a representative in Congress and adding to Utah's delegation.
Â"They're two good goals and he'll be looking at this bill to see if it's the best way to accomplish those goals,Â" she said.
If the bill passes, Utah would have to redraw its House boundaries. The last time the Legislature carved up the districts, Matheson was put into a district that was 62 percent Republican. But Bishop said a new round of redistricting wouldn't hurt Matheson.>