We Must Increase This House

Since 1913 U.S. law mandated the membership of the House of Representatives to be 435.  Soon that change and the House will be composed of 437 members.  The Senate today passed S. 160 which granted the District of Columbia a voting seat and Utah an additional seat.  Utah gets the additional seat because it would be the next to receive a seat under the 2000 census.

I am glad to see D.C. on the verge of getting a vote in the House.  However, I think the time has come to increase the membership of the House.  Since the membership was set at 435 the U.S. population grew by 210 million people.

I think the House should be increased to 450 representatives.  Increased population should be reflected in some increase in representation.  With smaller populations to represent, I hope that it will be easier for congress people to be more responsive to the people.  I would also hope that increased membership would lessen the losses caused by reapportionment but I don't know if that is possible.  

The House plans on voting to increase its membership next week.