Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to prohibit the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from charging individuals in its custody copays for health care visits. Individuals serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies are in BOP custody.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that, as the nation today celebrates 248 years since declaring independence from Great Britain in part because of taxation without representation, Congress must take the nation's founding slogan to heart and pass the D.C. statehood bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill to repeal the authority of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the District of Columbia. GAO, a federal agency that conducts investigations and audits for Congress, has the same authority over D.C. that it has over federal agencies. GAO's authorizing statute defines D.C. as a federal agency. In addition, GAO's authorizing statute and the D.C. Home Rule Act require GAO to engage in specific types of oversight of D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, during Pride Month, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) introduced a bill to remove the requirement from the REAL ID Act that compliant licenses include a gender designation. The bill instead would leave the decision to the states, and, if a state chooses to require a gender designation, a person would be able to change the designation by self-attestation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced victories for D.C. included in the House version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024 after the bill was marked up by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) today. Norton requested several provisions, all of which were maintained by the T&I Committee during the bill’s markup.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced the Veterans Legal Support Act, which would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide funding to law school clinical programs that provide pro bono legal services to veterans, including assistance with disability claims and foreclosures. There are at least 22 law schools that have clinics devoted to veterans’ legal needs, including the William & Mary Law School Veterans Benefits Clinic, which was the first recipient of a “best practice” certification from the VA. There are many other law schools, such as the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, that are interested in starting their own VA-certified clinics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– After the House Appropriations Committee marked up the fiscal year 2025 D.C. appropriations bill yesterday, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that although she was able to get some victories for D.C., she is disappointed with the anti-home rule riders and other provisions. Significantly, the rider prohibiting D.C. from commercializing marijuana, which was absent in the base text of the bill, was added back during the markup.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of Flag Day today, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) celebrated progress made in gaining the same respect for the District of Columbia flag that state flags receive. The House has previously passed her D.C. statehood bill twice, the Senate has held a hearing on the bill, and President Biden supports it.