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Norton Condemns Bill Permanently Banning D.C. Funding for Abortion, Expected to Go to House Floor Next Week

January 18, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today blasted Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) for reintroducing his bill to permanently prohibit the District of Columbia from spending its local funds that have been approved by Congress on abortion services for low-income women. Norton denounced Smith's anti-choice bill, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017 (H.R. 7), which manages to infringe both on the local authority of the District and on women's constitutionally-protected reproductive rights in D.C. and nationally. In addition, the bill permanently bans federal funding for abortion, prohibits D.C. and federal government employees from providing abortions, prohibits abortions in D.C. and federal government facilities, and defines the D.C. government as part of the federal government for purposes of abortion. The bill is expected to go to the House floor next week.

"Representative Smith has put the war on women at the forefront of his agenda to begin the congressional session, and, to make matters worse, he has once again decided to use his national anti-choice bill to uniquely target our local jurisdiction by abusing congressional authority over the District," Norton said. "D.C. should be able to spend its local tax dollars on policies and programs without politically-motivated interference by Members of Congress, who are unaccountable to the 680,000 American citizens living in the District. We should find many allies to defeat this anti-choice, anti-home-rule bill because it intrudes into the reproductive rights of women in every jurisdiction."

Representative Smith introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act in the 113th and 114th Congresses.