Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act, which would permit the use of marijuana in federally assisted housing, including public housing and Section 8 housing, in compliance with the marijuana laws of the state where the property is located. Under current federal law, the users of drugs that are illegal under federal law, including marijuana, are prohibited from being admitted into federally assisted housing. Federal law also allows landlords to evict residents of federally assisted housing for illegal drug use. Norton says that individuals living in federally assisted housing should not be denied admission, or fear eviction, for using a product legal in their state. Both adult use and medical use of marijuana are legal in D.C. and 34 states, and over 90 percent of Americans support legalized medical marijuana.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the House’s fiscal year 2021 supplemental security appropriations bill, introduced today to respond to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, contains victories for the District of Columbia she sought. The bill provides D.C. $66.7 million to eliminate the long-running deficit in the federally funded D.C. Emergency Planning and Security Fund (EPSF), prohibits the use of funds in the bill to install permanent above-ground fencing at the Capitol complex, and requires Capitol Police officers to wear body cameras. In February, Norton introduced the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act, which would prohibit the use of funds to install permanent fencing at the Capitol complex. In March, the House passed her Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act, which would require federal police officers to wear body cameras and use dashboard cameras, as part of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the response she and other Quiet Skies Caucus (QSC) members received from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to their letter regarding the FAA’s Neighborhood Environmental Survey, a nationwide survey about aircraft noise annoyance. Norton declared it a win for District of Columbia residents and the QSC. Norton and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) are co-chairs of the QSC, and Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY) are vice chairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today thanked Planned Parenthood and the NAACP for leading a letter to Congress signed by 250 women of color leaders supporting the District of Columbia statehood bill on public health and racial equality grounds. “This letter makes important points,” Norton said. “Statehood would give voting representation to the residents of the District, almost half of whom are Black, and it would improve our ability to enact effective public health campaigns and deliver those medical service to historically underserved Black communities. While ‘no taxation without representation’ is our rallying cry, the letter led by Planned Parenthood and the NAACP notes many other reasons why statehood is the only just way to proceed for the residents of D.C.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, today called for a hearing on ransomware attacks and their potential risks to national infrastructure, in light of the recent ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Co., which has impacted gasoline and jet fuel supply to the East Coast.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her resolution supporting federal workers on Tuesday in honor of Public Service Recognition Week. She has introduced the resolution every Congress since 2012. “This year has been particularly difficult for federal workers,” Norton said. “Many federal workers have had no choice but to come to work during the pandemic, potentially exposing themselves to a deadly disease and risking their very lives. On January 6th we had an insurrection resulting in the death of at least one Capitol Police officer. At our borders we’ve had large scale unrest as workers were asked to enforce inhumane policies. Yet at every challenge, federal workers rose to the occasion.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today thanked a national coalition of organizations from across the political spectrum for endorsing the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, which would give the D.C. Mayor control over the D.C. National Guard (DCNG). Currently, the president controls the DCNG, while the governors of states and territories control their National Guards. Norton and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are the sponsors of the bill.

WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a former tenured professor of constitutional law, today released the following explanation on why the 23rd Amendment, which allows the federal district to participate in the Electoral College, does not need to be repealed before Congress could grant statehood to the District of Columbia. Norton said, “Those who make such an assertion are conflating a policy choice and a constitutional requirement.