1993 January 5 The U.S. House of Representatives passes, by twenty-two votes, a rules change which will allow an increase in voting rights to delegates from Washington, DC and the United States territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. (The District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have large African-American populations.) In the past, the delegates took part in committee actions and votes, but not votes on the House floor, which were restricted to representatives from "the states" because the Constitution stipulated that only "the states" should have legislative authority. Delegates may now participate in all but the final votes affecting legislation.