Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today she will host a virtual town hall on the impact of the U.S. Capitol attack on D.C. residents, public spaces, and security on Thursday, February 11 at 6:00 p.m. All D.C. residents are invited to attend. D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) and representatives from the U.S. Capitol Police also will speak and answer questions from attendees. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP by emailing NortonEvents@mail.house.gov.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) was elected by her fellow Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to return as the chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, the largest and most important of the Committee’s subcommittees. Norton has focused her congressional committee work on transportation and infrastructure, most recently as a primary architect of the Moving Forward Act. The subcommittee’s jurisdiction over transit, including the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) rail and bus systems, is of particular importance to the District of Columbia and the national capital region.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the statement below upon learning of the death of Cicely Tyson, the actress known for her portrayals of strong Black women.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, four weeks after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) reintroduced her United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act, which would establish a national commission of experts from a broad spectrum of disciplines to investigate how to maintain our democratic traditions of openness and access while responding adequately to the security threats posed by terrorism. The bill authorizes a 21-member commission, with the president designating nine members and the House and Senate leadership each designating six members, to investigate the balance between openness and security. Members of the commission must come from diverse fields, including security, architecture, technology, sociology, psychology, military, city planning, business, engineering and history. Norton began working on the bill after Pennsylvania Avenue was closed and ugly security barriers first began to emerge in the District of Columbia following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The events of 9/11 and the attack on the Capitol have made this bill even more urgent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today condemned a bill introduced by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) that would permanently prohibit the District of Columbia from spending its local funds that have been approved by Congress on abortions for low-income women. The bill also would permanently prohibit federal funding for abortions, prohibit D.C. and federal government employees from providing abortions, prohibit abortions in D.C. and federal government facilities, and define the D.C. government as part of the federal government for purposes of abortions. Wicker has previously introduced the bill, but it has never passed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement calling on the U.S. Capitol Police to allow sledding at the Capitol tomorrow and next week in anticipation of a snowstorm.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that she will do everything in her power to prevent permanent fencing, walls or structures around the U.S. Capitol complex or in the District of Columbia. Norton today sent a letter to the Capitol Police Board opposing the recommendation of Acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman for permanent fencing at the Capitol complex. In her letter, Norton called permanent fencing “security theater—it would make the Capitol ‘look’ safe but mask the lack of state-of-the-art security measures that could actually prevent attacks in the future.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter today urging the U.S. Capitol Police to share the alerts sent to congressional employees about police activity on and threats to the Capitol complex with members of the surrounding community. If sharing those alerts raises security or technological concerns, Norton urged the Capitol Police to create an alternative mechanism for sharing such information with the surrounding community.