Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced details today on how her constituents and the general public can watch the upcoming House Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) hearing on her D.C. statehood bill (H.R. 51). Due to coronavirus and security restrictions, D.C. residents and the general public won’t be able to attend the hearing in person, but they can watch it live on COR’s website at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 22nd.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) spoke on the House floor today in support of a bill introduced by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that would award three congressional gold medals to law enforcement agencies for protecting the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021. One medal would go to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District Columbia, one would go to the U.S. Capitol Police, and one would go to the other law enforcement agencies that responded. Norton said that this bill reminds Congress and the nation that the Metropolitan Police Department, paid for by D.C. residents, who have no voting representation in Congress, voluntarily helped save the Capitol, its occupants, and democracy itself. The House is expected to pass the bill today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that the fencing around the Capitol complex will begin to be scaled back due to a lack of known, credible threats. Norton introduced a bill in February to ban permanent fencing at the Capitol complex and has been an outspoken advocate of removing the razor wire and slowly taking down the fencing, preferring to instead rely on state-of-the-art security options and better intelligence to prevent attacks like the one incited by former President Trump on January 6th.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said she is pleased with the response she received today from Capitol Police Board Chair and Acting Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway to her request that the Capitol Police Board improve access to the Methodist Church buildings on Maryland Avenue NE, which are located behind the Capitol complex fencing. On March 9, Norton sent a letter requesting that the fencing around the buildings either be removed or that there be accommodations to improve access, such as creating identification cards for the people who work and study in the buildings. According to Hemingway, the fencing will be adjusted, building occupants are being given temporary identification cards and vehicle parking placards, and other steps are being taken to improve access for deliveries and visitors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) met this week with third grade students from Brent Elementary School, a public school in the District of Columbia located near the U.S. Capitol, to hear their concerns about the fencing around the Capitol complex. The students have been working on their persuasive writing and brainstormed Capitol fencing as an issue that they felt strongly about.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) received a response to her letter urging the Clerk of the House of Representatives (Clerk) and the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to preserve and display some of the artifacts of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S Capitol. Norton wrote the Clerk and AOC on February 11th.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Quiet Skies Caucus (QSC) sent a letter, led by QSC Co-Chairs Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) and QSC Vice Chairs Congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY), to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Steve Dickson expressing their concerns over the FAA’s nationwide survey about aircraft noise annoyance. The letter points out that the noise metrics are outdated and do not accurately reflect the level of disruption caused by aircraft noise.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the following statement after the House today passed the Senate-passed version of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, sending the bill to the President’s desk for signature: