Norton Looking to Senate and President to Stop Budget Autonomy Repeal Bill Ahead of Tomorrow’s House Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In an effort to save District of Columbia budget autonomy, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today offered an amendment to grant D.C. budget autonomy through an act of Congress. Norton offered her amendment at a House Rules Committee hearing on H.R. 5233, a bill that repeals a referendum that granted the District budget autonomy and that is scheduled to go to the House floor tomorrow. The Rules Committee refused to make Norton’s amendment in order on a party-line vote. At today’s hearing, Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced into the record the White House Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) strongly opposing H.R. 5233 and stating the president’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill if it came to his desk.

“The party-line vote refusing to make my amendment to grant D.C. budget autonomy by an act of Congress in order was never in doubt,” Norton said. “This week, Republicans have used every tool they have to block D.C. from implementing its budget autonomy referendum—a stand-alone repeal bill set to go to the House floor tomorrow, and a rider repealing the referendum included in the House’s D.C. appropriations bill, which will be marked up in subcommittee tomorrow. However, we have already been fighting hard in the Senate, where we believe there are not enough votes to repeal the District’s budget autonomy referendum.”

Norton expressed her deep appreciation to Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA), the former chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR), for offering an amendment at the Rules Committee hearing to permanently exempt the District from shutdowns. Norton has been able to get D.C. exempt from shutdowns for three straight years in appropriations bills, but noted that the Issa amendment would have even greater positive implications for the District on Wall Street, as well as ensuring its daily operations would never be interrupted. She noted that Representative Issa had worked hard for budget autonomy when he was chairman of OGR, and that “the city still has friends in high places.” Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) said Issa’s amendment would not be made in order because it was not germane to the bill. The Rules Committee also voted to bar Members from offering amendments when the bill goes to the House floor tomorrow.