Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the federal tax filing season kicks off, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) issued a statement reminding the public that the District of Columbia pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and more federal taxes overall than 19 states, while being denied the same voting representation in Congress or full local self-government accorded to residents of the 50 states. Norton said that the remedy is for Congress to pass her D.C. statehood bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that the bill that the Committee on Oversight and Accountability passed today to repeal parts of D.C.’s local police accountability and transparency law represents a paternalistic, undemocratic incursion on the will of nearly 700,000 D.C. residents. The bill, the Protecting Our Nation’s Capital Emergency Act of 2023, was introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY).

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) today introduced the Reducing the Effects of the Cyberattack on OPM Victims Emergency Response Act, or the RECOVER 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 this bill as part of an appropriations bill. However, Congress has only required OPM to provide identity protection coverage to affected individuals through fiscal year 2026. The Norton-Ruppersberger bill would require OPM to provide the coverage for the remainder of the life of the affected individuals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a senior member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, introduced a bill today to establish a grant program for the design and construction of barriers to mitigate rail activity that may harm homes and their occupants, including derailments, noise and vibrations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced her Universal Prekindergarten and Early Childhood Education Act to provide federal funds for states to establish and expand prekindergarten programs in public and public charter schools for every child, regardless of income. The bill would afford the benefits of early childhood education to all families, many of whom are currently not able to access it due to cost.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill today to allow individuals who are 70 and older to opt out of jury duty in the D.C. Superior Court.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act today to 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 (including the District of Columbia) where the property is located. Under current federal law, 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. Adult-use marijuana, medical marijuana or both are currently legal in D.C., New Jersey and 37 other states, and over 90 percent of Americans support legalized medical marijuana.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today thanked Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for cosponsoring Norton’s D.C. statehood bill and for Pelosi’s history of championing D.C. home rule. “Speaker Pelosi is perhaps the most important and effective member of the House in history,” Norton said. “No Speaker or Minority Leader has ever fought harder to give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress, full home rule, or to ensure D.C. is treated like a state in all respects, and by cosponsoring my D.C. statehood bill, she’s demonstrating her continued support for D.C. residents’ right to self-governance. As she has said publicly many times, these issues are in her blood, given her father’s work in Congress, and she has fought both publicly and behind the scenes on behalf of D.C. residents.”