Norton Thanks House Rules Committee for Defeating Five Anti-Home-Rule Amendments

June 25, 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) thanked the House Rules Committee for prohibiting, at her request, all the anti-home-rule amendments that were filed to the fiscal year 2020 District of Columbia spending bill from receiving consideration on the House floor. The amendments would have blocked D.C. from using its local funds on abortions for low-income women, on carrying out the Death with Dignity Act, on carrying out the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, and on passing legislation to decriminalize prostitution. The committee defeated the amendments late last night.

"I thank Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern and the other Democrats on the committee for defending D.C.'s right to self-government and rejecting these undemocratic amendments," Norton said. "With Democrats in the majority, we are able to stop Republican grandstanding at the expense of D.C. home rule. Coming from Republican members, these amendments are all hypocritical. The authors of these amendments endlessly call for local control of local affairs, yet they try to abuse the power of the federal government over the local D.C. government."

Norton was able to block undemocratic amendments by the following House members:

Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) filed the amendment to block D.C. from using its local funds on abortions for low-income women, as states do.
Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) filed the amendment to block D.C. from using its local funds to carry out the D.C. Death with Dignity Act, which permits doctors to prescribe a fatal dose of medication to terminally ill patients, as 9 states permit.
Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL) filed the amendment to block D.C. from using its local funds to carry out the D.C. Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibits discrimination against employees based on their reproductive health decisions.
Representative Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) filed an amendment to block D.C. from using its local funds to pass a law to decriminalize prostitution. A bill has been introduced in the D.C. Council to decriminalize prostitution, but the Council has not taken it up.
Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) filed an amendment that effectively expresses the sense of the House D.C. should not decriminalize prostitution.