Equal Treatment and Basic Fairness in DC
Fair Prison Phone Rates for Prisoners and Families Achieved
As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Prison Telecomm Reform Working Group, Norton led the effort to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to bring prison phone rate fairness to incarcerated individuals and their families. A press conference featuring two D.C. residents, Martha Wright, and her grandson, Ulandis Forte, the lead plaintiffs for families nationwide in both the court case and the FCC petition, announced the CBC response, written by Norton, to the FCC proposed rulemaking to resolve the issue of exorbitant rates charged to prisoners and their families. In August, the FCC ordered reasonable phone rates. The FCC order is a critical ingredient of the successful reentry of prisoners to civil society. Evidence has long shown that more than any other factor, contact and communication with family and loved ones or a support system reduce recidivism and lead to successful reintegration of offenders into civil society.
New Benefits for the LGBT Community and D.C.
The District of Columbia, along with the LGBT community here, will particularly benefit from the Supreme Court's ruling that Section 3 the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because D.C. and only 18 states permit same-sex marriage. Of the thousands of married same-sex couples in 18 states and the District of Columbia who will have access to almost 1,000 valuable federal benefits, D.C. residents may benefit disproportionately. D.C. has a large number of federal employees, and its same-sex couples who are federal employees will benefit from federal employee benefits, including subsidized healthcare. The Internal Revenue Service ruled that legally married same-sex couples will be recognized for all federal tax programs, including income, gift and estate taxes. The Court ruling will likely bring a revenue bonus to the District itself because of the same-sex couples who come here to be married. Norton was pleased and proud to officiate at a same-sex wedding of D.C. residents Dr. Stephen Johnson and Dennis Kovanda at the foot of the U.S. Capitol Building this summer.
Senate passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) this year, which provides protection from workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, is of special importance to Norton, a former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which will enforce ENDA. She will continue her leadership on ENDA in 2014 to help to focus the momentum on House passage.
Loving Washington's Football Team, Not Its Disparaging Name
Norton has been a leader in the growing national movement to change the offensive mascot and name of Washington's professional football team. She is a cosponsor of the bill to cancel existing trademark registrations containing the term "redskin," and to deny registration for new trademarks using the term. In May, she and nine other members of Congress wrote to National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell, Washington football team owner Daniel Snyder, the 31 other NFL franchises, and Washington football team sponsor FedEx, urging a change in the team name. Norton recently recorded a radio spot calling on the Washington football team to change the mascot and make the name a source of pride that honors D.C.'s tradition of respect for all Americans. In October, Norton joined a panel discussion on the growing name-change movement, sponsored by the Oneida Indian Nation that included Native American leaders, sports commentators and civil rights leaders. The team's attempts to further trademark the team name have been rejected four times on grounds of disparagement by the Patent and Trademark Office, and a new ruling, expected soon, could use the same reasoning to cancel the trademark altogether.
Initiating a New National Focus on Black Men and Boys
This year, Norton, with Representative Danny Davis (D-IL), founded the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys, a national counterpart to her successful D.C. Commission on Black Men and Boys. Its inaugural event in July featured remarks from Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, and three prominent Black men speaking about the stages in the life of an African American male in the United States today – David Johns, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans; Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, author and Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University; and Kweisi Mfume, former congressman and former president of the NAACP. For Norton, the most appropriate legacy for Trayvon Martin would be action to repeal the Stand Your Ground laws in the 24 states where they exist.
Focus on Relieving Poverty: Removing Unjust Cuts to Food Stamps and Extending Long-Term Unemployment Insurance
As House Republicans have abandoned the poor, Norton has increased her attention to the available remedies. She participated in the "SNAP Challenge" for a week – living on the average food stamp budget of $31.50 per week, or $4.50 per day – to fight further reductions in funding from nutrition assistance programs as they face over $40 billion in cuts in the House Republican proposed farm bill reauthorization. The Republican cuts were so severe that they originally brought down the farm bill.
At the same time, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, passed by Congress this month, reduced the likelihood of a federal government shutdown in fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015 because it sets discretionary spending caps, but failed to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs, leaving 1.3 million Americans without unemployment insurance benefits after December 28, 2013. Norton, anticipating Republicans' refusal to extend this vital program in the budget deal, introduced a bill just before the deal was passed that targeted the crisis of the long-term unemployed. She is concerned that regardless of skill, they often continue to be unemployed as preference is given to workers unemployed for shorter periods. To keep long-term unemployed workers, many with skills, from becoming permanently unemployed, her bill would give employers a $5,000 tax credit against their payroll tax liability for each new net person hired who has been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer.