Delegates for the U.S. territories are rallying behind a congressional resolution that would restore some of their voting rights in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Introduced Thursday by House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), the resolution would give the delegates of the U.S. Virgin Islands, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico a vote in the Committee of the Whole — a right they held in the 110th and 111th Congresses, but, according to a release from Hoyer’s office, was taken away in a rules package voted on earlier this month by House Republicans.
"Stripping us from the only vote we have ever had was particularly heartbreaking for the District of Columbia, which barely missed getting full House voting rights last year," said D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton in the release. "Our residents will always stand in solidarity with other delegates serving in the House, who insist on each and every right to which we are entitled."
V.I. Delegate Donna Christensen explained Thursday that this particular rules change has been a back-and-forth issue since the 103rd Congress, which she said Republicans took to court after the delegates were given the full right to vote in the Committee of the Whole. Hoyer’s resolution, first introduced in the 110th Congress, was meant to be a compromise so the delegates could get their foot in the door, Christensen said.
While the Committee of the Whole considers only amendments to bills and resolutions, Christensen said Hoyer’s resolution — if passed by the House — could give the delegates a deciding vote. The downside, however, is that if an amendment passes by five or six votes, it can also be called on for a revote, in which case, the delegates could be excluded, she explained.
"Still, it’s an important vote," Christensen added. "People watch what we do. Unions, corporations, organizations that have a stake in any particular issue, watch our votes, so it does count for something. And sometimes, I can vote for an amendment that makes a difference in my district."
Realistically speaking, Christensen said the resolution, which only has to be passed by the House, might not make it that far.
"The Republicans do control whether it gets to the floor of the house," she said Thursday. "But we can work with their leadership and maybe come up with something that we can all agree with."
