Norton Still Trying to Block Anti-Home-Rule Riders on House Floor Today

Norton Still Trying to Block Anti-Home-Rule Riders on House Floor Today

April 13, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will speak this afternoon on the House floor on the closed rule for H.R. 1473, the final continuing resolution (CR) for fiscal year 2011. Norton will go the floor to protest the majority's refusal to allow her to offer amendments to remove the anti-home-rule provisions in the CR.

"The Republicans prevented me from having a vote on at least one of the amendments during a prior debate," Norton said. "The District is entitled at least a vote, especially considering that the CR is remarkably clean except for Guantanamo prisoners, the gray wolf, D.C. vouchers, and D.C.'s ability to spend its own local taxpayer funds on abortions for low-income women. The D.C. riders are the only controversial riders in the entire CR. D.C. has no vote on the House floor on the only controversial riders in the bill. No wonder the mayor, D.C. council members, and residents have taken to the streets." Norton said that apart from the D.C. riders, what is controversial about the CR is the nature of the cuts and who will be affected.

She said, "The District will feel the budget cuts, especially the $800 million that has been slashed from educational programs. These cuts are in addition to the ant-home-rule provisions contained in the CR that prevent the District from spending its local taxpayer-raised funds on abortions for low-income women, and create a new D.C. school voucher program. This budget battle between Congress and the District will clearly be a fight to the bitter end on all fronts."

Norton tried to offer three amendments yesterday to remove the anti-home-rule riders from the CR, but the Rules Committee reported a rule without amendments.