Norton Moves D.C. Schools and CFO Bills to House Floor (5/1/07)

Washington, DC-- At the request of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the Oversight and Government Reform Committee today passed H.R 2080 to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in keeping with District public schools charter revisions proposed by Mayor Adrian Fenty and passed by the Council of the District of Columbia. The other bill, H.R. 2081, increases the salary of the city's Chief Financial Officer. The current Home Rule Act requires these changes to be made by federal legislation, but Norton's policy always has been to introduce only city-approved measures without change when charter revisions are necessary. Norton is currently preparing a major bill to transfer all home rule authority and functions to the District of Columbia.

"Both of these bills are of major importance to the District, and if it were possible, the city would have made them effective immediately," Norton said. "Therefore, I am grateful to the Committee for moving the bill as soon as was possible. The school structure change, in particular, puts a heavy and unprecedented burden on the Fenty administration. The last thing Congress should do is to get in the way or slow this difficult process. The extra congressional level of procedure for a local school restructuring or for a salary increase for a city employee is not even close to the ball park of congressional jurisdiction, leave alone expertise. These bills dramatically demonstrate why my comprehensive bill to transfer all home rule authority to the local jurisdiction, where it belongs, is so important. The necessity for a member of Congress to introduce a bill for a self-governing city is an anachronism neither Congress nor the District can afford today. The offense to taxpaying D.C. residents is unintended, but it will remain until Congress eliminates such requirements. For the sake of both jurisdictions, I will try to make this the last time Congress is requested to pass charter bills."

Today was the earliest committee markup date following passage by the Council, and Norton has asked for early consideration on the House floor on the suspension calendar, which is reserved for non-controversial matters such as this.