Republican Senate Continuing Resolution Released Today Shows Norton Still Protecting Budget Autonomy Referendum

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that she has successfully protected the District of Columbia’s budget autonomy referendum from being overturned in the fiscal year 2017 continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government for two months unveiled by Senate Republicans today. Although the CR, which is opposed by Senate Democrats, appropriates D.C.’s fiscal year 2017 local funds for the duration of the CR (October 1-December 9), likely superseding D.C.’s locally-passed budget for that period, Norton is still trying to get the District’s locally-passed budget recognized in any final year-end spending bill.

“We are close to the end of the CR process and thus far we have kept Republicans from overturning the District’s budget autonomy referendum, even though they control both houses of Congress.” Norton said. “We are continuing the fight into next week and into the final year-end spending negotiations.”

Pursuant to the budget autonomy referendum, for the first time since the Home Rule Act of 1973, the local budget passed by the D.C. Council became law this year without congressional approval, after a 30-day congressional review period. While the Council-passed fiscal year 2017 local budget became law in July, the city’s fiscal year, like the federal fiscal year, does not begin until October 1, and D.C. cannot expend funds under the budget until then. Since federal law is supreme to state and local law, the CR likely supersedes the Council-passed local budget until December 9.

This year, Norton has kept four separate House-passed measures blocking D.C. from spending its local funds without congressional approval from being passed in the Senate. The House passed a stand-alone bill to repeal the budget autonomy referendum and to block D.C. from passing similar legislation in the future. The House-passed fiscal year 2017 D.C. appropriations bill contains the text of the stand-alone bill, repeals the D.C. Council-passed budget fiscal year 2017 local budget, and appropriates D.C.'s fiscal year 2017 local funds. Norton persuaded the full Republican Senate not to consider any bills related to the referendum. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee-passed fiscal year 2017 D.C. appropriations bill appropriates D.C.'s fiscal year 2017 local funds.