Norton Praises Selection of Senator Chris Coons as Ranking Member of D.C.’s Appropriation Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today telephoned Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) to applaud the city's good fortune with the announcement that the Senator will serve as ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which has jurisdiction over D.C. appropriation. The Senator was not in the office, but Norton expects to speak with him soon.

Senator Coons was a cosponsor of the New Columbia Admission Act.

"D.C. has once again drawn the long straw upon discovering today that our new Senate appropriations Ranking Member is Chris Coons. In his first statement, the Senator left no doubt about his full support for unfettered home rule, budget autonomy, and statehood. He said, ‘Residents of the District of Columbia should have the right to decide their city's budget, make their own decisions about how their city should be run, and have voting representation in Congress through statehood. The District deserves to govern itself free from members of Congress' personal political agendas. As long as I'm on this subcommittee, and especially in these next two years as ranking member, I'll work to ensure the voices of the District's 650,000 residents are heard loudly and clearly in the appropriations process.' There's no way to improve on that."

Norton said that like Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), with whom she worked closely as chair of the authorization committee of jurisdiction, Senator Coons is from the small state of Delaware. Like D.C., Delaware has only one representative in the House. She thinks that the Senator may see some kinship with the District beyond the principles he expressed today. Coons, a native of Delaware, was county executive of New Castle County before being elected to the Senate in 2010.