Hold Congress

in discussion •  7 years ago  (edited)



Accountable
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  • in 1804 each Representative represented approximately 40 thousand people. Today, the average population of congressional districts is nearly 700 thousand and growing.
    .
    In order to restore the House to the citizenry, our total number of federal Representatives will have to be increased substantially. Achieving this goal is essential to extending the ground of public confidence in our government and ensuring the beneficent ends of its institution.

    ........................

    The only thing preventing that from happening is......(wait for it)..................a congressional RULE.

  • the House shall never exceed 435 unless Congress, by affirmative action, overturns the formula and abandons the policy enunciated by this bill. I am unalterably opposed to limiting the membership of the House to the arbitrary number of 435. Why 435? Why not 400? Why not 300? Why not 250, 450, 535, or 600? Why is this number 435 sacred? What merit is there in having a membership of 435 that we would not have if the membership were 335 or 535? There is no sanctity in the number 435 … There is absolutely no reason, philosophy, or common sense in arbitrarily fixing the membership of the House at 435 or at any other number.”
    [Missouri Representative Ralph Lozier, 1928]

Not EVEN a fricking LAW...just a 'good old boy' agreement.

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@everittmickey You're on a role today with unequal representation posts.

Why is the number 435? Probably for the simple reason that that's where they were when they froze it. It was like musical chairs. They froze the House and it just wound up where it was. I don't think they ever turned the music back on.

That graph is excellent, but it only shows an average. State by state, numbers vary, which means things are even more unrepresentative than the graph indicates.

so unfreeze it.
the constitution mentions 30K
let's do that.