Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has presented a measure to remove organisations that are solely or largely funded by the federal government and not under the control of the District of Columbia from shutdowns of the federal government1. The D.C. Courts, the D.C. Public Defender Service, the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, and the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission are some of the organisations mentioned above1. The D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which receives the majority of its funding from the federal government1, is also included in the measure.
Congresswoman Norton underlines that these organisations are basically D.C.-based organisations that are unrelated to national or congressional shutdown issues.
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To ensure the safety and wellbeing of District of Columbia citizens during a federal government shutdown, they must continue to deliver essential criminal and civil justice services
What other bills has Congresswoman Norton introduced?
The Centre for Effective Lawmaking ranked Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton as the 7th most effective House Democrat and the 2nd most effective non-full committee chair in the previous Congress. Norton has so far introduced 80 bills. ยน. The following are a few of the bills that have made progress in the legislative process:
- Flood Prevention Act: Part of a broader bill that was approved in a House committee.
- The House committee passed the District of Columbia Courts Vacancy Reduction Act.
- Bill mandating that the directors of the District of Columbia’s pretrial services agency and court services and offender supervision agency reside in the District of Columbia: Passed in House committee.
Act memorialising slave voyages was approved by a House committee.
- House committee passes the District of Columbia Local Juror Non-Discrimination Act.
- The Women Who Worked on the Home Front in World War II Memorial Act was approved by a committee of the House and the full House.
- District of Columbia National Guard Federal Employee Leave Fairness Act (Portion of Bill): As a component of a larger bill, this legislation was approved by the House, the Senate, and the president.
- A broader bill that would change the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exclude the District of Columbia from matching requirements for some funds was approved in committee and by the full House.
- The Pay Equity for All Act was approved by the House committee and the whole House as a component of a bigger law.
- The Consider Teachers Act (Senate version) was approved by the House, the Senate, and the president before becoming law.
- The House committee approved the Washington Channel Public Access Act.
- The National Children’s Museum Act was approved by both the House committee and the full House.
- Home Rule Act for Chief Financial Officer Salary in the District of Columbia: approved in a House committee.
- The Federal Police Camera and Accountability Act, a component of a broader law, was approved on the House floor.
Tell me more about Congresswoman Norton’s background.
The House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit is chaired by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has represented the District of Columbia in Congress since 1991. She is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as the Oversight and Reform Committee.
Before entering politics, President Jimmy Carter chose her to lead the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the first woman to hold that position. She was a prominent national figure who served as a board member at three Fortune 500 corporations, a tenured professor of law, and a pioneer in the feminist and civil rights movements. One survey listed Congresswoman Norton as one of the 100 most significant American women, while another listed her as one of the most powerful women in the nation’s capital.
The congresswoman’s efforts to ensure that District of Columbia residents have full democratic rights and full congressional voting representation indicate the continuation of her longstanding fight for equal human and civil rights. Congresswoman Norton’s success in giving special economic incentives to her citizens matches her accomplishments in breaking down barriers for her underprivileged district. There are several of them, such as the senatorial courtesy to recommend federal judges, the U.S.
Attorney, and other significant federal law enforcement positions for the District; up to $10,000 per year for all D.C. high school graduates to attend any public U.S. college or university and up to $2,500 per year to many private colleges and universities; a special $5,000 D.C.
Homebuyer tax credits, which have significantly increased home ownership in the District and have played a significant role in stabilising the city’s population, as well as D.C. business tax incentives, including a sizeable wage credit for hiring D.C. residents, have helped to keep both businesses and residents in the city.
Throughout her time in Congress, Congresswoman Norton has also contributed significantly to the District of Columbia’s economic growth by establishing and maintaining jobs there. The most important are the things she brought to Washington, D.C.
Her work has resulted in the relocation of 6,000 jobs to the Washington Navy Yard, the largest federal construction project in the country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters compound, the 55-acre Southeast Federal Centre, the first private development on federal land, and her successful efforts to bring the new U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters and the Burrell Centre to the District.
By securing a historic package that for the first time restructured the financial relationship between Congress and the District by transferring $5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities and billions more in state costs to the federal government3, Congresswoman Norton assisted in ending the city’s most severe financial crisis in a century.
The Congresswoman teaches law at Georgetown University where she holds a tenured position3. She graduated from Ohio’s Antioch College with a bachelor’s degree before going on to Yale University to complete her master’s degree in American studies and obtain her law degree3.