Norton's Work with Leadership Clears Path to House Floor for D.C. Vote Bill This Month - 3/7/07
Washington, DC-Aftermeetings this week with Democratic leadership and relevant committee heads,Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced a timetable forHouse passage of the D.C. vote bill by the end of this month before recess,which begins on April 2nd. Norton said that she expects the bill to be moved next week by bothcommittees. The Judiciary Committee willpick up where it left off during the 109th Congress, with a fullcommittee hearing and markup. The Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitutionheld a hearing near the end of the last Congress. Also next week, the Oversight and GovernmentReform Committee, on which Norton and Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA),co-authors of the bill sit, will again mark up the bill. This committee didmost of the work and achieved the most progress ever, culminating in a vote of29-4 last May.
"When all is said and done,like every important decision in the House, the decision to move forward wasmade by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who weeks ago said to me that she was ready withthis bill she regards as historically important," Norton said. "I know I speak for my constituents when Iexpress deep gratitude to the Speaker for the time and effort she personallyhas spent on the bill. We in the Districtembrace this milestone in the journey of our citizens for two centuries toobtain the most basic of American citizenship rights-the cherished right to berepresented in the People's House."