February 10, 2005: NORTON PRAISES APPROPRIATION REORGANIZATION

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that she was very pleased with the outcome of the separate Senate and House committee reorganizations, which she expects will complement each other and help to reduce an adverse impact on the District of Columbia. Norton credited House Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Senate Appropriations Chair Thad Cochran (R-MS) for changes made to accommodate the District’s needs. “Both the new chairs have longstanding records of fairness and respect for the city. The decisions reflect their records and are very encouraging for the future,” Norton said.

The Congresswoman said that she had confirmed that the decisions are final for now, but they could be changed later. However, the fact that each house will organize differently “speaks volumes of the determination of each to go its own way.” Both the House and Senate have decided to organize along separate lines with the Senate retaining all 13 subcommittees and the House reducing the number to 10. The House plan eliminates the D.C. Appropriations Subcommittee and moves D.C. into a new Transportation, Treasury and Housing Subcommittee. Considering the alternatives, this subcommittee was the best fit if D.C. had to be placed with other issues, Norton said. She would have preferred that the full Appropriations Committee be assigned D.C. jurisdiction in order to reduce even further the opportunities for interfering with local self-government. However, the solution reached is considerably better than placing D.C. with the Interior Subcommittee, which has been marked by controversial issues unrelated to District affairs.

Norton was particularly pleased that the Senate D. C. Appropriations Committee would be retained. In her conversations with Senator Cochran and D.C. Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mike DeWine (R-OH), who she said had been an excellent subcommittee chair, she urged retention of the D.C. Subcommittee as the best outcome for the District in light of the change in the House. Norton said that she hoped that Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) also would agree to continue as ranking member.

“The best resolution of the District’s awkwardly undemocratic status is statehood, of course,” she said, “but until the city once again can assume all state costs, budget autonomy would have been the logical outcome.” She noted that the Senate last year passed “an outstanding D.C. budget autonomy bill,” but the House refused to agree.

Although changes still could be made, particularly this summer when Senate and House conferees become necessary, and further negotiations could arise, the asymmetrical House and Senate process is best for D.C. as long as the city is a part of another subcommittee in the House, according to the Congresswoman. “The elimination of the House D.C. Subcommittee here was a foregone conclusion,” Norton said. Her goal was to “manage the transition” to the extent that she could and to minimize harmful effects to the city. Placing D.C. in “the most closely related, least contentious of the new House subcommittees accomplished this goal,” she said.

Norton praised the outgoing House appropriations Chair Bill Young (R-FL) and recent subcommittee Chairs Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) for working closely with her to reduce riders and other conflict and to get the D.C. appropriation out on time. However, in the past, the House often besieged the process with riders and was the reason D.C. was delayed for months in getting its own money out of Congress. In contrast, the Senate has used the appropriation process to benefit the city and has repeatedly tried to eliminate some of the most obnoxious riders, such as the bans on needle exchange and on the use of D.C. funds to lobby for voting rights.

“In light of the developments in the House, retaining the D.C. subcommittee in the Senate is the best deal for the District,” Norton said. “The Senate is likely to be helpful in preserving funding, advocating respect by both committees for local home rule, and expanding self-government.”