Norton Condemns Republican Oversight Hearing on Local D.C. Government: “Keep Your Hands Off D.C.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today condemned Republicans their scheduled Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on local D.C. government and markup of a disapproval resolution to nullify D.C.’s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act, saying that the Republican focus on meddling in local D.C. affairs is undemocratic and paternalistic. The hearing is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 29th at 10:00 a.m. and the markup is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
“Republicans have a peculiar preoccupation with expending their resources, which rightly belong to their own constituents, on meddling in local D.C. governmental affairs – a district none of them represent in Congress,” Norton said. “This undemocratic, paternalistic fixation consistently denies their own constituents time, attention and resources that should be used to solve problems for their own districts.
“I will continue working to do everything within my power to stop congressional meddling in local D.C. affairs, and I have one message for the current House Republicans: Keep your hands off D.C.”
Local D.C. legislation must be transmitted to Congress for a designated review period. If a disapproval resolution is enacted during that period, it prevents the D.C. bill from taking effect. Wednesday’s markup will be for a disapproval resolution introduced by Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY).
Norton’s markup statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
Markup of H.J.Res. 42, Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022
March 29, 2023
Let me begin by saying to this committee: Keep your hands off D.C.
It is true that Congress has the constitutional authority to legislate on local D.C. matters, but it is false that Congress has a constitutional duty, obligation or responsibility to do so. Instead, legislating on local D.C. matters is a choice. This disapproval resolution is a choice.
I remind my Republican colleagues, who claim to revere the Founders, what James Madison said in Federalist 43 about the residents of the federal district: “[A] municipal legislature for local purposes, derived from their own suffrages, will of course be allowed them.” The Supreme Court has held that Congress may delegate “full legislative power” to D.C. on local D.C. matters.
Today, this committee is marking up profoundly undemocratic, paternalistic legislation. This one-sentence legislation would nullify legislation enacted by D.C.’s duly elected representatives.
D.C.’s local legislature, the D.C. Council, has 13 members. The members are elected by D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like how the members vote, they can vote them out of office. That is called democracy.
After the murder of George Floyd, many states and D.C. passed police accountability and transparency legislation. The Council has repeatedly passed emergency, temporary and permanent versions of police accountability and transparency legislation.
Congress requires the Council to pass the permanent version of legislation twice, separated by at least 13 days. The Council passed the legislation that is the subject matter of this disapproval resolution by votes of 11 to 0 and 13 to 0.
Congress has 535 voting members. The members are elected by the residents of the several states. None are elected by, or accountable to, D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like how the members vote, even on legislation that applies only to D.C., such as this disapproval resolution, they cannot vote the members out of office. Members who vote in favor of this disapproval resolution are choosing to substitute their policy judgment for the judgment of D.C.’s duly elected representatives. They will choose to govern D.C. without its consent.
I can only conclude that this committee believes that D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown, are either unworthy or incapable of governing themselves. D.C. voters are not children. They do not need protection from the decisions of their duly elected representatives by members of Congress from Kentucky, Georgia or anywhere else.
The Revolutionary War was fought to give consent to the governed and to end taxation without representation. Yet, the nearly 700,000 D.C. residents cannot consent to any action taken by Congress, whether on national or local D.C. matters, while paying full federal taxes—indeed, D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and more total federal taxes than 23 states.
If this committee cared about democratic principles or D.C. residents, it would be marking up my D.C. statehood bill, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act instead. Congress has the constitutional authority to admit the State of Washington, D.C.. This committee is choosing not to. It is a choice.
###