Washington Post: A Fair Vote

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LEGISLATION to give the District its first-ever voting member of Congress is set for markup in a Senate committee today. Approval is likely, but a test of the bill's eventual chances for enactment is how many Republicans vote yes. Encouragingly, the committee's ranking minority member has come out in favor of the bill. Others should follow her lead in placing fairness ahead of partisanship.

The support of Sen. Susan M. Collins (Maine), senior Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, comes in the face of strong opposition from her party's leaders. The White House has threatened a veto, and supporters fear a filibuster on the Senate floor; hence the need to round up GOP votes. The bill, a version of which has passed the House, would give the District a voting member in the House while adding a seat for Utah. Both Republican senators from Utah back the bill. Of the other Republicans on the committee, Sen. George V. Voinovich (Ohio) is leaning toward the bill. We are disappointed that Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who has tried to be a good friend to the District, has decided to oppose the bill in committee.

Mr. Warner's opposition is grounded ostensibly in concerns about its constitutionality. Indeed, there are valid and strong arguments on both sides of this debate, but, as Ms. Collins pointed out yesterday, the best place to decide that question is in the courts. She is proposing an expedited process for court review. It's a sensible solution that Republican and Democrat alike should embrace. The alternative, after all, is continued disenfranchisement of a city whose residents duly pay their taxes and loyally serve in the military. That this bill has gotten as far as it has, while separate measures giving the city legislative and budget autonomy are being advanced in the House, offers evidence that at the very least some people are finally starting to feel guilty about the city's second-class status.

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