OXFORD, Miss., -- (Apportionment.US ) - Plaintiffs in the historic lawsuit seeking a larger and more equitable Congress filed their briefs today in U.S. District Court.  The lawsuit, Clemons v. Department of Commerce, challenges the constitutionality of the current size of the United States House of Representatives, arguing that the provision in the United States Code (2 USC Section 2a) that freezes the size of the House at 435 members is unconstitutional, violating the well-established principle of "one-person, one-vote" by a substantial margin.

"In short, the government asserts that they don't have to adhere to the 'one-person, one-vote' equality standard that is imposed on the states" said Scott Scharpen, founder and president of Apportionment.US, the non-profit charity coordinating the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs.  "We honestly thought that we would get into a philosophical discussion around the question, 'How equal is equal?'  Yet surprisingly, the government essentially claims that equality is not a factor at all when apportioning the U.S. House."

This is the same federal government, however, that forces states to achieve precise equality of congressional districts within a small fraction of 1%, yet at the national level, the federal government permits inequality to exceed 80%.  The plaintiffs' response soundly refutes the government's extreme position with constitutional, historical and Supreme Court information.

 Continue reading here:   http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Federal-Government-Says-prnews-2700991678.html?x=0&.v=1

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