Redistricting Reform Bill Deserves hearings Blue Dog Endoresment: Statement of Meredith McGehee, CLC Policy Director
It is time for the House to hold hearings on redistricting reform legislation currently pending in the 111th Congress. The issue is of huge importance to our democratic process and yesterday's endorsement of the legislation by the Blue Dog Coalition lends weight to the calls to reform the process before the 2010 Census and subsequent round of predictable extreme political gerrymanders.
For several Congresses running, legislation to curb these abuses has been referred to committee and left to die quietly without so much as a hearing. With the 2010 Census fast approaching and no redistricting reform ballot initiatives pending in California, it is time for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to green light hearings on the Fairness And Independence in Redistricting (FAIR) Act (H.R. 3025) introduced by Representatives John Tanner (D-TN) and Mike Castle (R-DE) last month.
Let's be clear: both Republicans and Democrats alike abuse the process for political advantage but it is the Democrats who are driving the bus in Washington today. We hope Speaker Pelosi will urge Chairman Conyers and the Judiciary Committee to hold hearings and advance the issue before the commencement of another shameless round of gerrymandering which allows incumbent House Members to handpick their constituents.
It is the voters who should be selecting their elected Representatives in Congress, not the other way around.