Norton Highlights Hypocrisy of House Hearing on ‘No Regulation Without Representation’

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said she could not resist pointing up the newest Republican hypocrisy after the House Judiciary Committee announced an upcoming hearing entitled "No Regulation Without Representation: H.R. 2887 and the Growing Problem of States Regulating Beyond Their Borders." Under Republican control, the committee has refused to grant the District of Columbia voting representation in Congress and has repeatedly tried to overturn local D.C. laws. H.R. 2887 would limit the ability of states to tax and regulate out-of-state businesses, partly because, according to its proponents, such businesses have no vote on regulations.

"It is beyond rich that the Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing about out-of-state businesses supposedly being denied a vote on regulations when it refuses to exercise its jurisdiction to grant the 700,000 Americans who live in the District voting rights in Congress," Norton said. "Adding insult to injury, the committee has repeatedly tried to overturn local D.C. laws."

The hearing notice comes less than a week after the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that would prohibit the District from spending its local funds on marijuana commercialization and abortions for low-income women, as well as repeal D.C.'s medical aid-in-dying law and budget autonomy referendum.

In 2007 and 2009, when Democrats controlled the House, the Judiciary Committee approved Norton bills to grant D.C. full voting rights in the House. Since Republicans took over the House in 2011, the committee has not only refused to consider legislation to grant D.C. voting rights, it has passed three bills to permanently prohibit D.C. from spending its local funds on abortions, as well as a bill to prohibit abortions in D.C., and only D.C., after 20 weeks of pregnancy.