Hi,

The number of representatives in the U.S. House has not increased since 1912 even though the U.S. population has QUADRUPLED.1 That means your member of Congress represents a lot more people than the last time we changed the law. If we want a House more representative of the people, more responsive to the needs of the communities in each part of the country, we simply need more lawmakers in the lower chamber.

That’s why Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) introduced the Restoring Equal and Accountable Legislators (REAL) in the House Act. The REAL House Act will grow the house by 150 members and bring lawmakers closer to the people they represent.2

Sign the petition: Urge Congress to pass the REAL House Act to strengthen our representation in Washington, and our democracy.

While the Senate must have two senators per state, the Constitution says nothing about how big the House chamber must be — only that each state be allocated a proportional number by population, so long as each state has at least one. Congress capped the number at 435, and they can vote to change it anytime.

The population growth has not been even — with disparities having a greater effect on larger, more diverse states.3 Right now, Black and brown communities are underrepresented in Congress. So, this legislation would bring us closer to equal representation for all in Congress.

This is an easy, direct way to give the American people better representation in Congress. It will better serve our democracy and our constitution.

Sign the petition to Congress: Pass the REAL House Act now!

Thanks for taking action,

Tihi and the team at Demand Progress

Sources: 

  1. United States Census Bureau, “Historical Population Change Data (1910-2020),” April 26, 2021.
  2. Office of Rep. Blumenauer, “Blumenauer Introduces REAL House Act,” January 31, 2023.
  3. Daily Kos, “The House stopped growing over a century ago even as the U.S. quadrupled. A new bill would fix that,” February 6, 2023.

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