Norton Introduces Bill to Require Federal Officials in Charge of D.C. Supervision Agencies to Reside in D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to require the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) and the Director of the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia (PSA) to be D.C. residents during their tenure. CSOSA is a federal agency, and PSA is an independent entity within CSOSA.
“There are residency requirements for government positions in federal law, D.C. law and the laws of jurisdictions throughout the United States. The primary reason such laws exist is to ensure that certain government officials have a connection to the residents they serve and in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges these residents face,” Norton said.
Norton has also introduced the District of Columbia Federal Judicial Officials Residency Equality Act to require federal district court judges, federal circuit court judges, the U.S. Attorney, the two U.S. Marshals, and the federal court clerk who serve in D.C. to reside in D.C., just as such officials are required to do in other jurisdictions.
Norton's introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
on the Introduction of
A Bill to Require the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia and the Director of the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency to Reside in the District of Columbia
April 28, 2025
Today, I introduce a bill that would require the Directors of two federal agencies, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) and the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (PSA), to reside in the District of Columbia during their terms. There are residency requirements for government positions in federal law, D.C. law and the laws of jurisdictions throughout the United States. The primary reason such laws exist is to ensure that certain government officials have a connection to the residents they serve and in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges these residents face. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill in the 117th Congress.
CSOSA and PSA are federal agencies that focus exclusively on D.C. CSOSA supervises individuals on probation, parole or supervised release for violations of D.C. law. PSA makes recommendations regarding pretrial release and supervises defendants for the D.C. Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for D.C. The Directors of CSOSA and PSA should be required to be D.C. residents since these agencies serve only D.C.
Congress has justifiably required that certain federal officials live in the jurisdictions to which they are appointed, including U.S. district court judges, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Attorneys. Similarly, Congress, which controls the local D.C. court system, has justifiably required local D.C. judges and members of the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure to reside in D.C.
There is no reason that the Directors of CSOSA and PSA should not be required to live in D.C. These federal officials need to be part of the community they serve. A D.C. residency requirement for these federal officials will lead to better outcomes in the criminal justice system and is a matter of fairness for D.C. residents.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
###