By Lisa Hoffman
Scripps Howard News Service
The last thing many Americans would want is more lawmakers serving in Congress, an institution registering rock-bottom approval ratings these days. But that is exactly what one congressman is proposing.
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., says the House, which hasn't added representatives in 99 years, needs to expand beyond the current count of 435 because, in the last century, the U.S. population has tripled and the number of states has grown by four. As a result, constituent access and influence has been eroded, while the impact of campaign donors has mushroomed.
Hastings has introduced a bill to create a commission to study his idea. Some might wonder if Hastings, a former federal judge who was impeached and removed from the bench on corruption and perjury charges in 1989, is the right standard-bearer for the issue.
E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl@shns.com.
