Media

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) celebrated today’s House passage of the Equality Act. Norton is an original cosponsor of the bill, which would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, federally funded programs and federal jury service. Equality for all Americans has long been a signature issue for Norton, but her work for equal treatment for LGBTQ people has long held even greater significance because congressional opponents of equality for LGBTQ people have used the District of Columbia’s unique status as a weapon against LGBTQ people in D.C. For example, Norton defeated repeated attempts to block D.C.’s marriage equality law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) visited a D.C. pharmacy this morning with Vice President Kamala Harris to highlight the importance, safety, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine. Norton said that while she understands the hesitancy that some communities, particularly communities of color, have about the vaccines, she has full confidence in the ones approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Norton completed her two-dose regimen of one of the vaccines several weeks ago.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and based on the suggestion of District of Columbia Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that she will introduce a bill that would make the chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) an ex officio, non-voting member of the Capitol Police Board (CPB). The CPB oversees the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). Norton said that, as Congress considers reforms to the CPB, the CPB should appreciate the full context in which it operates, including its impact on D.C. residents, especially those who live close to the Capitol.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter requesting that the National Park Service (NPS) change the name of Melvin Hazen Park in the District of Columbia and work with the community to find a more suitable name. Hazen helped demolish the African American community in the D.C. neighborhood then known as Reno City. Norton noted in her letter that NPS appears to have the authority to change the name without congressional action because the name was designated administratively.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today reintroduced legislation to remove the Andrew Jackson statue from Lafayette Park in the District of Columbia, a federal park, citing Jackson’s ownership of slaves and genocide against Native Americans. This bill is the fourth in a series of statue and memorial removal bills Norton has introduced as part of her Black History Month series.

WASHINGTON, D.C – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, released her opening statement in advance of today’s subcommittee hearing on equity in transportation safety enforcement. The hearing, the subcommittee’s first of the 117th Congress, begins at 11 a.m. Her opening statement, as prepared for delivery, follows.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) reintroduced their bill today to remove the name of Francis G. Newlands, a late U.S. senator from Nevada who held racist views, from Chevy Chase Circle. The name appears on the fountain and a plaque in the circle. The circle lies partly in the District of Columbia and partly in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, which Raskin represents, and is managed by the National Park Service.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter to the Capitol Police Board requesting that the public have access to the outdoor spaces of the U.S. Botanic Garden that remained open to the public after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were instituted at the U.S. Capitol complex but were closed after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.