The District of Columbia, with a population larger than that of Wyoming, does not have a voting member in the House and has no representation in the Senate. A new bill from a Utah Congressman would change that, though. The Ogden Standard-Examiner's Heidi Burton reports:

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, wants the District of Columbia to get representation in Congress -- but only if Utah gets a fourth seat in the bargain.

Bishop is co-sponsor with Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., of a bill that would give the district a seat in the House of Representatives in return for another Utah seat.

"It would give us the extra seat we should have had at the turn of the decade," Bishop said. "I'm looking at it very selfishly. I want the extra seat for Utah. ... It's probably not the grandest of motives I've ever had for a bill."

Utah narrowly missed earning another seat based on the population census of 2000. Utah is bound to get another representative or maybe two after the next census, Bishop said, but this bill would speed up the process.

It's time for the District of Columbia to finally gain the representation it deserves. Hopefully this bill, or one like it, will draw the bipartisan support necessary for passage.