Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a former constitutional law professor and Supreme Court practitioner, condemned the draft Supreme Court order overturning Roe v. Wade, saying it would not only end the constitutional right to abortion but also call into question whether the Supreme Court will overturn other longstanding and recent precedents protecting unenumerated rights of individuals. She also noted that the draft order presents a unique threat to abortion access in the District of Columbia because of Congress’ plenary legislative authority over D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) today introduced the RECOVER Act (Reducing the Effects of the Cyberattack on OPM Victims Emergency Response Act) to provide free lifetime identity protection coverage to current, former and prospective federal employees and contractors whose personal information was compromised by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breaches in 2015. Following the data breaches, Congress approved a version of the Norton-Ruppersberger bill as part of a fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill. However, Congress only required OPM to provide the identity protection coverage to affected individuals through fiscal year 2026. The Norton-Ruppersberger bill requires OPM to provide the coverage for the remainder of the life of the affected individuals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today expressed disappointment that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently proposed to the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission that the VA-operated Southeast Washington Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) be closed and its services be moved to the VA Medical Center in D.C. or to the CBOC in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Norton previously successfully fought the closure of the Southeast Washington CBOC, and will fight this latest proposed closure.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that, despite the official withdrawal today of a proposed rule restricting public access to the Washington Channel in the District of Columbia, she will continue working to pass her bill that would prohibit any such rule in the future. Norton hosted a public meeting on the proposed rule, where D.C. residents overwhelmingly opposed the restrictions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) wrote the National Park Service (NPS) requesting information about the investigation into an automobile crash that killed two pedestrians at Hains Point last year. Norton wrote the letter after learning that NPS has refused to provide the families of the victims the driver’s name, which is necessary to file life insurance claims. Norton has long worked on getting more transparency from NPS, including in the 2017 shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar, who was unarmed, by U.S. Park Police officers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about reports of undelivered and delayed mail throughout the District of Columbia. In the letter, Norton said her office has not been receiving timely responses on cases referred to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that President Biden today nominated Ana Reyes to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Norton recommended Reyes to Biden. If confirmed, Reyes will be the first Hispanic woman and first openly LGBTQ person to ever serve on that court. Norton’s first two recommendations to Biden for the U.S. District Court for D.C., Jia Cobb and Florence Pan, were confirmed by the Senate and are serving on the bench.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) this week introduced a bill to clarify due process rights for federal employees serving in sensitive positions. Norton’s bill would overturn an unprecedented federal court decision, Kaplan v. Conyers and MSPB, that stripped federal employees who do not work on classified matters of the right to independent review of an agency decision removing them from jobs on grounds of ineligibility, preventing at least 200,000 federal workers who are designated as “noncritical sensitive” from appealing. Norton says the Kaplan decision undercuts the Civil Service Act, which ensures due process rights for federal workers, as required by the U.S. Constitution.