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Norton Statement on the Passing of Alice Rivlin

May 14, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the following statement on the passing of Alice Rivlin:

"Alice Rivlin was my friend and an important friend of the District of Columbia, where she lived most of her extraordinary life. As one of the sharpest minds in economic policy, Alice helped guide the nation's economic policy for decades. Although the field was, and continues to be, dominated by men, she overcame entrenched and pervasive sexism to head the Congressional Budget Office as its longest serving director and established the CBO as one of the most critical institutions to enable Congress to understand the impact of our legislation.

"The residents of the District of Columbia are particularly indebted to Alice Rivlin, who used her budget expertise and love of her hometown when the District needed her most – during the worst economic crisis in its history. For three years, Alice chaired the financial control board Congress imposed on the District in the 1990s, and later testified before Congress on several occasions urging more equality for D.C. residents. Most recently, she offered valuable testimony before the Senate in 2014 on D.C. statehood, where she said, ‘There is no longer any reason to worry that the District would not be a fiscally viable state.'

"As head of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton, Alice further helped guide the nation to a budget surplus by the time Clinton left office. She had the deepest sense of public service, which complimented her striking intellect in economics. History rarely highlights women who break barriers in government or academia, but if they did, Alice Rivlin should undoubtedly be recognized as one of the trailblazing women who forever changed our nation and her hometown."