Norton Releases Statement Ahead of Markup on Her Bill Expanding D.C. Home Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released her statement ahead of tomorrow's Committee on Oversight and Reform markup of her District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act, which would be the biggest expansion of D.C. home rule since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973. The bill would give D.C. the exclusive authority to prosecute D.C. crimes, give D.C. the exclusive authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, and eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation. The markup begins at 10 a.m.

This Congress, in addition to passing Norton's D.C. statehood bill, the House has twice passed her bill that would give the D.C. mayor control over the D.C. National Guard. The House also has, at her request, twice passed bills that would prohibit the use of federal funds to carry out the provision in the Home Rule Act that authorizes the president to federalize the D.C. police department.

Norton's markup statement, as prepared for delivery, follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

Committee on Oversight and Reform

Markup

H.R. 8861, the District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022

September 20, 2022

Chairwoman Maloney, thank you for marking up my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022, which would expand D.C.'s authority to govern purely local matters. Specifically, this bill would give D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes, give D.C. the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes and eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation.

D.C. should—and will—be a state. However, until Congress grants D.C. statehood, there is no constitutional or policy reason Congress should not pass this bill. States are not the only entities that have the three authorities this bill would give D.C. The territories, such as Guam and Puerto Rico, have these authorities, too.

Under the Constitution, Congress has plenary authority over both D.C. and the territories. Congress has chosen to not require a congressional review period for territorial legislation and has chosen to give the territories the authority to prosecute and grant clemency for all crimes under their respective laws. Congress can choose to give D.C. these authorities, too.

First, this bill would give D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes. While Congress has given D.C. the authority to enact criminal laws, it has only given D.C. the authority to prosecute some D.C. crimes. Congress should give D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes.

Currently, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles, and the D.C. Attorney General has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by juveniles and some by adults. This bill would not only make the person with the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes accountable to D.C. residents, it also would save the federal government tens of millions of dollars annually by reducing the number of individuals working in the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C.

Second, this bill would give D.C. the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, as Congress previously has done. Currently, the president exercises the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, though almost never does so. D.C. residents deserve a say in whether their fellow residents deserve mercy.

Finally, this bill would eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation. D.C. legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the period. The congressional review process imposes significant costs on both D.C. and Congress, but only three disapproval resolutions have been enacted since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973, and none since 1991, more than 30 years ago. Yet, the D.C. Council has to use a Kafkaesque legislative process to comply with the review process, often having to pass the same bill in three different forms—emergency, temporary and permanent—using different legislative procedures for each form. Even without the review period, Congress would retain its constitutional authority to legislate on any D.C. matter at any time.

I would like to close by noting that there are some Republicans in Congress who have recently called for repealing the Home Rule Act and returning to the days when Congress was D.C.'s sole legislature. That will not happen on my watch.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield back.

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