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DEAR MR. PRESIDENT
SHURTLEFF WRITES BUSH & CONGRESS ABOUT UTAH’S 4TH SEAT
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is hoping the White House and Congress can agree on one thing: Utah and the District of Columbia deserve better representation. Shurtleff and District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer sent a letter today to President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi asking for support of H.R. 1433, the Voting Rights Act which would give a House Seat to the District of Columbia and a fourth seat to Utah.
“This bill is desperately needed because Utah has the least representation of any state and the District of Columbia has none,” says Shurtleff.
The four-page letter provides a legal and historical backdrop on why the proposed legislation is constitutional. ”The Framers of the Constitution did not intend to deprive the District’s citizens of representation in Congress.”
Shurtleff and Singer add that the legislation will finally provide meaningful representation for the District of Columbia and address the Census Bureau’s failure to count Utah citizens who were temporarily living abroad for religious and community service during the 2000 census. “The voting rights bill thus provides a unique opportunity to correct two wrongs.”