Norton Taking Further Action With Continuing Complaints that D.C.’s Driver’s Licenses Are Not Being Recognized
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who chairs the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said today that she will be meeting with top Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials soon because of continuing problems that D.C. residents are having when using their D.C. driver's license for purposes of identification, particularly at airports. Norton's office has continued to receive complaints from residents about this persistent issue, including the most recent report from WFTV Washington correspondent Justin Gray, who was stopped at a TSA checkpoint at an airport in Orlando. A different example of denial of recognition occurred recently in New Hampshire, when a District resident was prevented from purchasing alcohol at a liquor store because, according to New Hampshire state law, businesses that sell alcohol can accept a driver's license with photo identification from any of the 50 states and the provinces of Canada, but not the District of Columbia. Norton said that D.C. is "trying our best to become the 51st State, but being the District of Columbia, the nation's capital, should be enough." The Congresswoman said she appreciated that New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hasan looked into the matter and the New Hampshire Liquor Commission issued a statement stating D.C. driver's licenses were acceptable.
"We may not be a State and we may not have a vote in Congress, but we pay taxes to the United States," Norton said. "At the very least, we should be recognized as part of the United States by our own Transportation Security Administration and by each and every State and locality. I appreciate that Governor Maggie Hassan tweeted she is looking into the New Hampshire liquor ID statute. I am also grateful for the immediate action taken by TSA Administrator John Pistole when I contacted him when the first complaints arose earlier this year. I am looking forward to a sit-down meeting with TSA officials to find a permanent solution to this problem. "