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WASHINGTON, D.C. – After reading recent reporting indicating that the Trump Administration plans to install permanent fencing around Lafayette Square, the public park in front of the White House, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced her intention to introduce a bill to prohibit permanent fencing at the park.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to prohibit the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from charging individuals in its custody copays for health care visits. People serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies are in BOP custody.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) filed several D.C.-related amendments to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) at the Rules Committee, including amendments to: Give the Mayor of D.C. the same authority over the D.C. National Guard that the governors of states and territories have over their National Guards. Currently the president controls the D.C. National Guard. This amendment is based on the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act (H.R. 5093). Require the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard to reside in D.C. This amendment is based on the District of Columbia National Guard Commanding General Residency Act (H.R. 4815). Require members of the Armed Forces performing active service in D.C. in response to an order of the president relating to crime or civil disturbance in D.C. to participate in a body-worn camera program similar to the D.C. police department’s program. This amendment is based on H.R. 5051. Give D.C. the same number of appointments and nominations to the U.S. service academies as states receive. Without senators to nominate qualified students, D.C. residents currently receive only a third of the total slots available to residents of the states. This amendment is based on the Service Academies District of Columbia Equality Act (H.R. 5971). Require the consent of the chief executive officer of a state (including D.C. and a territory) for the deployment of an out-of-state National Guard to the state or territory under Title 32. This amendment is based on a bill introduced by former Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), H.R. 590.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act to establish a national commission of experts from a broad spectrum of disciplines to investigate how to maintain our democratic traditions of openness and access while responding to the security threats posed by terrorism. The bill authorizes a 21-member commission, with the President designating nine members and the House and Senate leadership each designating six members, to investigate and offer recommendations on the balance between public access to and security in Federal buildings and other Federal property. Members of the commission must come from diverse fields, including security, architecture, technology, sociology, psychology, military, city planning, business, engineering and history. Norton began working on the bill after Pennsylvania Avenue was closed and security barriers were erected in D.C. following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The events of 9/11 and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol have underscored the bill’s urgency.