After more than 200 years of paying taxes, fighting in the nation's wars and abiding by sometimes arbitrary acts of Congress, Washington residents are close to getting a full-fledged representative in the House.

The turning point in this long battle for enfranchisement may be an unlikely partnership with the people of Utah.

The new Democratic majority, in the first months of the new Congress, is expected to take up a bill that would increase the voting membership of the House from 435 to 437, giving new vote each to Utah, a Republican stronghold, and the District of Columbia, dominated by Democrats.

The bill is backed by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee that will be responsible for moving it.

Prospects are also good in the Senate. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who calls himself an independent Democrat, will chair the committee of jurisdiction there. Lieberman is a leading supporter of the measure, and Utah's two Republican senators have endorsed it as well.

Senate action is needed because Congress in 1929 enacted a law fixing House membership at 435 seats. The number was increased to 437 in 1959 after Alaska and Hawaii became states, but reverted to 435 after the 1960 census. The legislation that would add new seats for D.C. and Utah would keep the House at 437 members.

Full story at: http://www.cnn.com

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