Baucus Lone Democrat to Vote Against DC Representation in Congress
WASHINGTON — Montana Sen. Max Baucus was the only Democrat Tuesday to vote against moving legislation to give District of Columbia residents their first member of Congress.
The bill stalled after senators voted 57-42, just three votes short of the 60 needed to move the measure forward. The bill would have created two new House seats: One for the city of about 600,000 people and one for Utah, which narrowly missed out on a fourth seat after the 2000 census.
Baucus said the legislation would dilute Montana’s influence in Congress. The state has only one member of the House.
“This was a vote about fairness, and about protecting Montanans’ rights,” Baucus said. “While we have equal representation in the Senate, Montana only has one voice in the House. If we were to expand the House, Montana’s voice would become less influential.”
He said the legislation is a “slippery slope” and advocated a proposal to allow Maryland representatives to represent the city.
Montana’s other Democratic senator, Jon Tester, supported the bill. He also said the vote was about fairness, but of a different kind.
“There are more than a half million Americans who pay taxes yet have no representation in Washington,” Tester said in a statement. “I don’t think that’s right.”
Yay Tester! Boo Baucus!
