The House of Representatives will vote by the end of this month on a bill that would give the District a full vote in the chamber, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer announced.

With backing from Hoyer (D-Md.) and other key lawmakers, the bid to add one seat for the District and another for Utah is expected to pass, legislators said. It would then go to the Senate, where its prospects are less certain.

The District government will form a task force to help implement reforms of its troubled emergency response system as part of a legal settlement with the family of a slain New York Times journalist whose case was poorly handled by police and ambulance workers.

