Introduced by Representative Elton Gallegly, the bill provided forthe election of a Delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands for the congressional term beginningin 1999 (106th Congress). 4067 before the markup. H.R. DC Delegate Rights and Additional House Seat

Another issue under discussion in the 109th Congress is whether to grant the Delegate fromthe District of Columbia voting rights on the floor of the House and, if so, how it should be done. Replacement of Delegates and the ResidentCommissioner. Evolution of Territorial Delegates

		Northwest Ordinance

The office of Delegate -- sometimes called "nonvoting Delegate" -- dates to the late 1700s,when territories bound for statehood were granted congressional representation. (19)
The Delegate's duties, privileges, and obligations, were otherwise left unspecified. Representative James Madison disagreed. Apparently, it was Congress's intent that themandate of these representatives be broader than service in the U.S. Which committees Delegates could serve on and their rights on those committee becamethemes in Congress over the last 200 years. Currently, Delegates enjoy powers, rights, and responsibilities identical, in most respects, tothose of House Members from the states. Delegates can speak and introduce bills and resolutions onthe floor of the House and can speak and vote in House committees. Delegates are not, however,full-fledged Members of the House. The Housebegan to define the functions of Delegates when, on January 13, 1795, it appointed Mr. White amember of a select committee to investigate better means of promulgating the laws of the UnitedStates. (43) 
The first regular assignment of Delegates to standing committee duty occurred under a Houserule adopted in December 1871. Although a House rule provided for the appointment of territorialDelegates as additional members on certain committees, the report noted, "the House could not electto one of its standing committees a person not a Member of the House." Expressly the Delegate shall exercise inthe committee . . . . the same powers and privileges as in the House, to wit, the "right of debating,but not the right of voting." (52) That same year, Congress enacted the Legislative ReorganizationAct, which contained a provision to amend the House rule on Delegates (rule XII) to read:
The Resident Commissioner to the United Statesfrom Puerto Rico shall be elected to serve on standing committees in the same manner as Membersof the House and shall possess in such committees the same powers and privileges as the otherMembers. In theircomplaint, the plaintiffs stated:
[N]on-member voting in the Committee of the Wholeimpairs and dilutes the constitutional rights of the plaintiff-Representatives, both as Members of theHouse and as voters who enjoy the right to full, fair and proportionate representation in the Houseof Representatives. "If the only action of the House of Representativeshad been to grant to the Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, Virgin Islands, andAmerican Samoa, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico the authority to vote in theCommittee of the Whole," he wrote, "its action would have been plainly unconstitutional."
Territorial Delegates have served in the House since the late 1700s, representing territoriesthat had not yet achieved statehood. In the 20th Century, the concept of Delegate grew to includerepresentation of territories where the United States exercises some degree of control but which werenot expected to become states.
Currently, the U.S. insular areas of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and thefederal municipality of the District of Columbia are each represented in Congress by a Delegate tothe House of Representatives. The individual elected to represent Puerto Rico is called the ResidentCommissioner instead of delegate. The Delegates and Resident Commissioner are the successorsof Delegates from statehood-bound territories, who first took seats in the House in the late 1700s.
Proposals offered in recent Congresses have sought to grant the Delegate from the Districtof Columbia voting rights on the floor of the House. Another proposal would expand territorialrepresentation to include the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Floor action in theHouse and Senate on these bills could occur before the end of the 109th Congress.
Early laws providing for territorial Delegates to Congress did not specify the duties,privileges, and obligations of these representatives. It was left to the House and the Delegatesthemselves to define their role. On January 13, 1795, the House took an important step towardestablishing the functions of Delegates when it appointed James White, the first territorialrepresentative, to membership on a select committee. In subsequent years, Delegates continued toserve on select committees as well as on conference committees. The first fixed assignment of aDelegate to standing committee occurred under a House rule of 1871, which gave Delegates placesas additional members on two standing committees. In these committees, the Delegates exercisedthe same powers and privileges as in the House; that is, they could debate but not vote.
In the 1970s, Delegates gained the right to be elected to standing committees and to exercisein those committees the same powers and privileges as Members of the House, including the rightto vote. Today, Delegates enjoy powers, rights, and responsibilities identical, in most respects, tothose of House Members from the states. Like these Members, Delegates can speak and introducebills and resolutions on the House floor; and they can speak and vote in House committees. Delegates are not, however, full-fledged Members of Congress. Most significantly, they cannot voteon the House floor.
This report builds on earlier reports on territorial delegates prepared by former colleagues,[author name scrubbed] and the late William H. Tansill, and also benefitted from the production assistanceof Daphne Bigger. Paul Rundquist was a major contributor to this report. This report will be updatedas events warrant.