Congresswoman Norton's Weekly eNewsletter
Audio Available from Norton's 4/14 Telephone Town Hall
Norton held her first COVID-19-focused telephone Town Hall on April 14, 2020. Full audio is now available for anyone who missed the Town Hall.
Norton Thanks 102 National and Local Groups for Letter to Congress Supporting D.C. Coronavirus Funding Fix
Norton thanked 102 national and local groups for sending a letter calling on Congress to retroactively fix the treatment of the District of Columbia as a territory rather than a state in the state stabilization fund in the third coronavirus response bill, which deprived the District of $750 million. The letter, led by DC Vote, was signed by 102 leading national civil rights, labor, environmental and democracy reform groups, as well as by local D.C. organizations.
On Emancipation Day, Norton Announces New Resolution Commemorating D.C. Statehood Bill
On Emancipation Day, Norton announced a new resolution commemorating Emancipation Day and her District of Columbia statehood bill. Because the House was not in session that day, Norton introduced the resolution on April 17, when the House was in a pro forma session.
Emancipation Day is an official holiday in D.C. honoring the day in 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln freed 3,100 slaves in the District, nine months ahead of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Read the full announcement here.
Norton Negotiates Favorable Rule for Public Access to Washington Channel for Boaters, Thanks Army
Norton announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning to issue a revised rule for the Washington Channel that will provide much greater flexibility for mariners than the original proposed rule. After a 30-day comment period closes, the final determination will be announced in the Federal Register in the coming months.
Read the full announcement here.
Norton Asks for Funding for DHS Headquarters Consolidation at St. Elizabeths in Fourth Coronavirus Response Bill
Congresswoman Norton requested funding in the fourth coronavirus response bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Headquarters consolidation project at the St. Elizabeths West Campus in the District of Columbia. This consolidation is the largest federal project in the country and, given the work that has already been done on the site, is ripe for inclusion in a bill focused on economic stimulus.
Norton Again Asks Federal Bureau of Prisons to Finalize Plans for D.C. Returning Citizens Before Hope Village Contract Expires in Two Weeks
Norton sent a second letter to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Michael Carvajal, urgently asking him to finalize plans for the residents of the BOP-contracted men's halfway house in the District of Columbia, Hope Village, before its contract expires on April 30, 2020.
Norton wrote: "Please bear in mind that these inmates are eligible for reentry under our laws. Particularly considering the COVID-19 crisis, BOP must continue to release as many inmates to home confinement as possible, using appropriate safety measures."