Democrat Seeks to Bar Dornan From House Floor

Former Rep. Robert K. Dornan called a bill by a House Democrat to keep him off the House floor “harebrained” and said its sponsor is going to be “laughed off the Hill” for suggesting that the civil rights of Latino voters may have been violated.

A week after Dornan threatened to take his battle for a special election in the 46th District directly to the House floor, Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a bill Thursday that would keep Dornan out.

And Menendez said that some actions taken during the investigation into the contested seat may have violated the Voting Rights Act. He would not elaborate.

Dornan said that if he loses his bid for a special election, he may file his own claim under the Voting Rights Act.

Thursday’s exchange was the latest in a 10-month saga over the central Orange County congressional seat, which Dornan lost to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) by 984 votes. Dornan has contested the election, claiming illegal immigrants voting for Sanchez made the difference in the election.

The challenge has caused ripples throughout Congress as the House Oversight Committee initiated an unprecedented probe of the election and Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) threatened to “shut down the House” if the investigation is not dropped.

Dornan’s “here, and he’s done just what he promised to do, which in my view is to abuse the spirit of his privileges as a former member,” Menendez said.

Dornan has been spotted on the House floor this past week, which he is permitted to do as a former member. But House rules ban former members from lobbying on pending legislation.

Menendez’s bill would extend that ban to prevent former members from discussing any congressional business that might directly affect them, such as Dornan’s election challenge.

“Whether or not there is legislation pending shouldn’t matter--a former member shouldn’t be able to use their status to lobby for any personal or financial gain on the floor,” Menendez said. “It took Bob Dornan to make it clear that not everyone can be trusted to act with the same dignity.”

Dornan admitted he has spent a lot of time on the House floor and estimated that he spoke to 60 members Thursday alone. But he said that he never discussed the merits of his case with any of them. Instead, he said, he was discussing POW-MIA issues and other matters.

“I’m not going to give them a spin to this by talking about the merits of the case on the floor, even though I feel I’m entitled to it,” Dornan said. “They can’t stand my presence on the floor because they know I’ll be back.”