Norton Slams Cheap Shots Aimed at the Nation’s Capital

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement today on continuing discussions and efforts to dismantle federal agencies in the nation's capital.

"Federal workers provide the nation and the federal government with nonpartisan analysis and expertise that Congress and the President rely on to serve the American people. Continuing discussions and efforts have ranged from sabotaging the federal government's work by moving agencies out of the nation's capital to outright inaccurate political talking points.

"Here are the facts. In 2017, according to the Office of Personnel Management, 79 percent of federal civilian employees were not only based outside of the nation's capital, but beyond D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Cabinet agencies are required to be headquartered in the nation's capital, but there has never been enough space in Washington for all federal agencies.

"At the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), nearly ninety-five percent of staff are already employed outside the National Capital Region, while those who do work at headquarters serve the vital role of keeping Congress and the President informed of BLM activities. In fact, in the 1990s, the BLM moved its wildfire staff out West, only to move them back when Congress demanded briefings on new wildfires. I have already gotten language in appropriations bills that would deter politically-motivated moves outside the nation's capital.

"We can have a discussion on ways to make government work better for the American people, but politicians throwing cheap shots at the nation's capital, where 700,000 Americans live, should not be part of that discussion."