Norton Keeps Heat on Congress to Approve D.C.'s Local Budget for Entire Year & Free City of CRs

Norton Keeps the Heat on the House and Senate to Approve D.C.'s Local Budget for the Entire Year & Free the City from Short Term CRs

March 1, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- For the second day in a row, the House Rules Committee has refused to accept Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) amendment to allow the District government to function for the rest of the fiscal year. Yesterday, the Rules Committee rejected Norton's amendment to the current Continuing Resolution (CR) and would agree only to leave the District in operation until March 18. Norton made a new attempt today, seeking to attach her amendment, co-sponsored by Representative Jim Moran (D-VA), to another must-pass bill, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011, which also must be signed into law by March 4, but the Rules Committee again refused her amendment. Even as Norton submitted her amendment today, she was at work with her Senate allies to permit D.C. to spend its local funds for the remainder of the year.

"The Republicans appear to regard my amendment as some kind of special exception," Norton said. "Far from being an exception, the District's locally-raised budget has no place whatsoever in the fight between congressional Republicans and Democrats about the federal budget. My fear now is for a series of doomsday CRs, which would do great harm to federal employees and the American people they serve, but would have devastating consequences on the day-to-day operations of this big city."