Eleanor Norton

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Maloney for marking up my bill and helping to bring it to the floor. This bill would name the post office at 400 Southern Avenue Southeast in the District of Columbia as the District of Columbia Servicemembers and Veterans Post Office. While it is important that our country honor all servicemembers and veterans, our country owes a special debt of gratitude to D.C. servicemembers and veterans, who serve or have served their country without voting representation in Congress or full local self-government. It is remarkable that they serve a country that denies them basic democratic rights, rights they have often been sent overseas to defend. D.C. residents have served in every war since the Revolutionary War. There are approximately 30,000 veterans who live in the District of Columbia, and almost 200,000 D.C. residents have served in the military since World War I. This bill is one way to recognize their service and sacrifice. 635 D.C. residents were casualties of World War I, a casualty figure greater than that of three States during that war. 3,575 D.C. residents were casualties of World War II, a casualty figure greater than that of four States during that war. 547 D.C. residents were casualties of the Korean war, a casualty figure greater than that of eight States during that war. 243 D.C. residents were casualties of the Vietnam war, a casualty figure greater than that of 10 States during that war. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Program Act. This bill would permanently authorize funding for the Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., District of Columbia National Guard Retention and College Access Program, which provides tuition and other financial assistance for higher education to members of the D.C. National Guard, which is an exclusively federal entity. This program and bill are named for Major General David F. Wherley, Jr., former Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, who, along with his wife, Ann, and seven others were tragically killed when Metro trains collided on the Red Line on June 22, 2009. I renamed this bill after Major General Wherley because he worked tirelessly with me for many years to get funding for this program, and because of his devotion to D.C. youth and to the D.C. National Guard. This program was recommended by Major General Wherley and his successor at the D.C. National Guard, Major General Errol Schwartz, to stem the troublesome loss of D.C. National Guard members to other units, including National Guards in surrounding states that offer assistance for higher education to their members. I am grateful that Congress has consistently provided funding for this program, most recently $600,000 in fiscal year 2022. Permanently authorizing this program will help ensure that members of the D.C. National Guard receive the same benefits as members of other National Guards and help the D.C. National Guard recruit and retain members. This program not only benefits D.C. National Guard members, the great majority of whom live in Maryland or Virginia, but also helps the D.C. National Guard to maintain the force necessary to protect the federal presence in D.C. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 3499.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3499) to amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to repeal certain obsolete requirements, and for other purposes.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill will repeal a section of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to conform the act with government-wide Federal acquisition regulation changes to subcontracting limits. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2009 directed the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to institute a government-wide limitation on excessive subcontracting. This change put the Department of Homeland Security-specific requirements established by the Post- Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act in conflict with government- wide rules. This bill simply repeals the Department of Homeland Security's obsolete requirement. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. S. 3499 is a simple example of good governance with bipartisan support. I support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act, led by Congresswoman Sharice Davids in the House, will enable the Federal Emergency Management Agency to identify the communities most in need of mitigation projects and to help them access the necessary funding and support to complete such projects. Climate change and development in high-risk zones has created a never-ending stream of disaster impacts that cause billions of dollars in damage around the country, which taxpayer dollars must cover. This legislation will help protect communities and reduce the financial burden on taxpayers by targeting mitigation investments to communities that have the fewest resources to invest in resilience and are expected to incur the greatest amount of disaster damage. By directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to publicly designate the most in-need and at-risk census tracts as Community Disaster Resilience Zones, stakeholders can effectively target mitigation investments to these communities and make them more resilient. This legislation also authorizes Federal cost share flexibility for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant project applicants in designated Community Disaster Resilience Zones. I ask my colleagues to support the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 3875.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3875) to require the President to develop and maintain products that show the risk of natural hazards across the United States, and for other purposes.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support for S. 3875 signed by 32 organizations. December 5, 2022. Hon. Peter DeFazio, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Sam Graves, Ranking Member, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman DeFazio and Ranking Member Graves: We, the undersigned organizations, write to express support for S. 3875, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ) Act of 2022, which the Senate passed by unanimous consent and is nearly identical to the bill (H.R. 7242) your committee passed. Collectively, our organizations represent a wide variety of constituencies, including business, conservation, emergency managers, housing, infrastructure, local government, public safety, science, and taxpayer organizations. We commend the CDRZ Act bill sponsors, Representatives Sharice Davids and Garret Graves and Senators Gary Peters and Rob Portman, for their bipartisan, bicameral leadership and thank them for introducing the CDRZ Act bills. This legislation is a critical, foundational step toward prioritizing and directing a whole-of-nation focus on the most vulnerable communities facing the risk of potentially life-threatening and economically devastating climate and natural disaster events. The CDRZ Act would amend the Stafford Act to establish a statutory structure to identify and designate CDRZ communities that are the most in need and most at risk to natural hazards, such as hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and wildfires, to increase public and private sector investments in housing, infrastructure, and community-wide resilience. Building smart, modern, resilient infrastructure, including nature-based infrastructure, has long been among our top priorities. We support the CDRZ Act, which would: Amend the Stafford Act by adding a requirement that FEMA maintain and update products and tools that define natural hazard risk across the U.S. and use that dataset to identify and designate CDRZ communities that are the most in need and most at risk to natural hazards; Authorize the President to provide CDRZ-designated communities with assistance and funding for pre-disaster mitigation planning and projects to increase resilience against the identified hazards; and Help prioritize and attract additional public and private sector funding (including public-private partnerships) for resilience projects in or primarily benefitting CDRZ- designated communities. Thank you for your leadership. We look forward to continuing to work with you and Congress to ensure our communities most threatened by climate and natural disaster risk and most economically vulnerable have the support, resources, and opportunities they need to improve their resilience. Sincerely, US Resiliency Council (USRC), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), SmarterSafer Coalition, SBP, Resilience Innovation Hub, Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), R Street Institute, National Wildlife Federation (NWF), National Special Districts Coalition (NSDC), National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), National Housing Conference (NHC), National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), National Association of Counties (NACo), Interstate Council on Water Policy (ICWP). International Code Council (ICC), International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), Ecological Restoration Business Association (ERBA), The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), BuildStrong Coalition, Big City Emergency Managers (BCEM), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), American Planning Association (APA), American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Council of Engineerng Companies (ACEC), After the Fire: Recover, Rebuild. Reimagine. (ATF3R).

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. This bill will also help my district, which was built on the rivers and where disaster resilience is most needed. In closing, we know that investments in mitigation measures save up to $11 for every $1 spent. This legislation will save taxpayer dollars by investing in mitigation and protecting vulnerable communities. I thank my colleague, Sharice Davids, for her work on this issue, and I support this targeted, data-driven approach. I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to require the installation of the District of Columbia's seal on the stained-glass windows in the Main Reading Room of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress, where the seals of all the states and territories that existed when the building was constructed, except for the District, are depicted. D.C.'s seal was readily available at that time and should have been included. The seals of Hawaii and Alaska are not included in the display because they were not states or territories when the building was constructed. This fact argues for the inclusion of the District, which, after all, was the nation's capital at the time of construction. The omission of D.C. was brought to my attention by a District resident, Luis Landau, a former docent at the Library. The residents of the District have always had all the obligations of American citizenship, including paying federal taxes and serving in all the nation's wars, including the War of 1812, during which the Capitol building, which then housed the Library of Congress, was burned, prompting construction of the current Library building with the state and territory seals. It is, therefore, without question that the District and its residents should receive equal treatment among the stained-glass windows that portray the history of the United States. D.C. residents deserve to have their history and American citizenship recognized. There is existing evidence that the D.C. seal should have been depicted. The Members of Congress room in the Jefferson Building, which is not open to the public, has a painted depiction of the D.C. seal included with state seals on its ceiling. This precedent reinforces our request to be represented among the stained-glass windows in the Main Reading Room, which is open to the public. Congress already often includes D.C., or has corrected the omission of it, when honoring the states. For example, D.C. now has two statues in the Capitol alongside two statues from each of the 50 states. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 requires the armed services to display the District flag whenever the flags of the states are displayed. Legislation was also enacted to give D.C. a coin after it was omitted from legislation creating coins for the 50 states. We also successfully worked with the U.S. Postal Service to create a D.C. stamp, like the stamps for the 50 states, and worked with the National Park Service to add the D.C. flag alongside the state flags across from Union Station. It is long overdue to display the D.C. seal with the seals of the states in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the recipients of this year's Right Direction Awards. The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia established the Right Direction Awards in 2015 in an effort to uplift and celebrate D.C. youth. Since then, over 150 inspirational young people in D.C. have received this award. The Right Direction Awards honor D.C. youth who demonstrate tenacity and resilience in the face of significant challenges, including experiencing isolation, homelessness, loss of loved ones and acclimating to a new country. Congratulations to this year's recipients: Darrell Anderson, Dineia Jones, Kaitlyn Arbertha, Dieudonne Kazzembe, Mylan Barnes, Maleek Loggins, Eric Curry, III, Jymeen McGrier, Robert Edwards, Osman Milla, Arno Fonkoue, Daja Mitchell, Isabella Getahun, Ariyah Nash, Antwon Gibson, Ashanti Paylor, Shaniya Gibson, Derren Richardson, Christy Hill, Eric Wade, Jr, Dellvon Hughes and Jamarri Kane-White. Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring this year's recipients of the Right Direction Awards for persevering through major life challenges to have a positive effect on their community.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Improving Reentry for District of Columbia Residents in the Bureau of Prisons Act of 2022. This bill would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to place D.C. residents serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies in BOP facilities within 250 miles of D.C. Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, individuals serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies are in BOP custody. Currently, more than 2,000 D.C. residents are serving sentences for D.C. Code felonies, and they are in BOP facilities across the United States. While Congress will not provide funding to BOP to build a new facility for these D.C. residents, there are more than enough existing BOP facilities within 250 miles of D.C. to house all of these D.C. residents. Under this bill, BOP could place a D.C. resident outside 250 miles upon the request or consent of a resident, and BOP could place a D.C. resident outside 250 miles without consent in extraordinary circumstances. Having D.C. residents closer to D.C. will help them maintain relationships with family and support networks and help them as they reenter society, which should be a priority of BOP. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to amend the recently enacted fiscal year 2023 continuing resolution (CR) to provide $50 million in emergency supplemental appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) for humanitarian assistance for migrants. The funding would remain available until expended. In a cynical political stunt, the governors of Texas, Arizona and Florida have sent approximately 14,000 vulnerable people fleeing desperate and dangerous situations in their home countries to the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago and Martha's Vineyard in the last several months. In fiscal year 2022, Congress provided $150 million for the EFSP for humanitarian assistance for migrants. As of September 28, 2022, approximately $1 million of this funding remained available. I, along with several colleagues, sent a letter to the House Committee on Appropriations requesting that the CR provide $50 million in emergency supplemental appropriations for the EFSP for humanitarian assistance for migrants, but it was not included in the introduced version of the CR. We then filed an amendment to the CR at the Committee on Rules to provide this $50 million, but the amendment was not made in order. The enacted CR only provides funding for the EFSP at the fiscal year 2022 rate of operations. D.C., New York City, Chicago and Massachusetts have increased their requests for EFSP funding, and without additional appropriations, the EFSP may exhaust its funding. This $50 million would ensure that D.C. and other jurisdictions, as well as non-profit groups and volunteers, have the resources they need to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants. As we continue to work to provide increased funding for the EFSP for humanitarian assistance for migrants in the regular fiscal year 2023 appropriations bill, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Joi Mitchell for receiving the Relationship Rockstar Award for her outstanding work as an AmeriCorps fellow with Saga Education in the District of Columbia. Joi received the award for her exceptional work with students at Anacostia High School and Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in the District of Columbia during the 2021-2022 school year. The Relationship Rockstar Award prioritizes respect and values relationships and providing positive experiences through inclusiveness and excellence. Improving the academic outcomes of low-income students is one of our nation's most urgent challenges. By high school, many low-income students are three or more years behind grade level, especially in math. In many schools, large class sizes have made it impossible for teachers to offer students the individual instruction they need. That is why the work that Joi is doing each day with ninth graders in the District of Columbia has made such a big impact on their lives. Joi was previously a facilitator for a mentoring program in the South Side of Chicago, where she led sessions and offered personal guidance to young women. Joi is a joyful person who set out to help others, especially children and youth--part of what makes her such a great fit as an AmeriCorps fellow and tutor working with youth in the District of Columbia. Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Joi Mitchell for her outstanding work as an AmeriCorp fellow with Saga Education and for her positive impact on students at Anacostia High School and Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in the District of Columbia.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Promoting National Service and Reducing Youth Unemployment Act to address one of the greatest workforce tragedies--our unemployed young people--while filling the employment gap the public sector is facing as more workers choose the private sector. Youth unemployment is harming our young people and costing our country billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and tax revenue, among other costs. Although the total unemployment rate has reached a relative low (3.7 percent), the youth unemployment rate is nearly 7.9 percent. These young people have not had a fair chance to use the high school or college education we strongly urged them to obtain. What is particularly disappointing, especially in today's low unemployment economy, is the high unemployment rate for young people who heeded our advice to graduate from high school and college. The unemployment rate is currently 7.9 percent for people 16 to 24 years old, which is 4.2 percentage points higher than the total unemployment rate, and hundreds of thousands of them now compete for unpaid internships wherever they can find them. By significantly adding 500,000 new members to AmeriCorps, my bill would need no new administrative structure or bureaucracy but would allow unemployed youth to earn a stipend, obtain work experience and develop a good work history to help secure future employment. The bill would significantly expand job opportunities for young people who have done what they could to get a job, but, despite their best efforts, remain unemployed. AmeriCorps participants receive a living allowance and are also eligible for an education award equal to the value of a Pell grant, school-loan forbearance, health care benefits and childcare assistance. By expanding AmeriCorps, we would reduce the number of unemployed young people, provide them work skills and experience and help understaffed state and local governments provide services. My bill would also establish that the minimum wage for any AmeriCorps State & National member would be 200 percent of the federal poverty line, and would not allow for a decrease in that amount, as is allowed under current law. AmeriCorps members serve their country and gain skills, but we should increase the minimum wage for everybody, including national service members. For some time, it has been clear that policies to address the most stubborn forms of unemployment need to be targeted in order to be effective. Without significant targeting, many young people will continue to face their first years as adults without jobs and with no way to acquire necessary work experience. They deserve a better start in life as adults. I ask my colleagues to support this urgently needed, targeted assistance for our unemployed youth.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Chairman Grijalva, for yielding, and I thank him and Chairman Neguse for bringing this bill to the floor. This bill would authorize the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia commemorating the enslaved individuals who endured forced migration to the United States by way of the transatlantic slave trade. The National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission unanimously supported this bill, and it passed out of committee by unanimous consent. We must not hide this history. Enslaved individuals, known and unknown, rest at the core of our Nation's history. The atrocities of the system of chattel slavery shed light on our Nation's central struggle between slavery and freedom--a freedom under which some could be owned, beaten, separated from their families, and denied any rights. This bill provides for the creation of a powerful marker of truth- telling and remembrance. Let us honor the personhood of these individuals who were repeatedly assumed to have none so that they will never be forgotten. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act of 2022, which would expand D.C.'s authority to govern its local affairs. Specifically, the bill would give D.C. the authority to prosecute and grant clemency for all D.C. crimes and eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation. D.C. should--and will--be a state. However, until Congress grants D.C. statehood, there is no constitutional or policy reason Congress should not pass this bill. This bill is about local control over local affairs. It does nothing more than give D.C. the same authorities states and territories have over certain local governmental functions. Under the Constitution, Congress has plenary authority over both D.C. and the territories. It has already used its plenary authority to give the territories the self-governing authorities this bill would give D.C. First, this bill would give D.C. the authority to prosecute all crimes committed under its laws. Congress already lets D.C. write D.C. criminal laws, and lets D.C. enforce them against some violators. Congress should let D.C. enforce them against all violators. This provision would effectuate a 2002 advisory referendum, approved by 82 percent of D.C. voters, to create a local prosecutor's office. Currently, the U.S. Attorney for D.C. has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by adults and some by juveniles, while the D.C. Attorney General has the authority to prosecute most D.C. crimes committed by juveniles and some by adults. Giving D.C. the authority to prosecute all D.C. crimes would not only give D.C. residents a say in the enforcement of all their laws, it also would save the federal government tens of millions of dollars a year by reducing the number of assistant U.S. attorneys in the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. Second, this bill would give D.C. the authority to grant clemency for crimes committed under D.C. laws, as Congress previously has done. Currently, the President exercises the authority to grant clemency for D.C. crimes, though almost never grants it. D.C. residents deserve a say in whether their fellow residents deserve mercy. Finally, this bill would eliminate the congressional review period for D.C. legislation. D.C. legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. The review process imposes significant costs on both D.C. and Congress, but only three D.C. disapproval resolutions have been enacted since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act, and none since 1991, more than 30 years ago. Yet, the D.C. Council has had to develop a Kafkaesque legislative process to comply with the review period, often having to pass the same bill multiple times. Congress loses nothing by eliminating the abandoned congressional review period. Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time, and has done so many times outside of the review period, such as through the appropriations process. The congressional review period (30 days for civil bills and 60 days for criminal bills) includes those days when either house of Congress is in session, delaying D.C. bills from becoming law, often for many months. The delay forces the D.C. Council to pass most bills several times, using a cumbersome and complicated process to ensure that the operations of this large city continue uninterrupted. The congressional calendar means that a 30-day period usually lasts a couple of months and often much longer because of congressional recesses. Placing a congressional hold on D.C. bills has not only proven unnecessary, but has imposed costs on the D.C. government, residents and businesses. District residents and businesses are also placed on hold because they have no certainty when D.C. bills, from taxes to regulations, will take effect, making it difficult to plan. It is particularly unfair to require the D.C. Council to engage in this unnecessary, labor-intensive and costly process to no effect. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding to me. And I appreciate her correction of the prior speaker on the other side who repeatedly said that Federal employees could not be fired, ignoring the figures that the Chair had given of 10,000 employees fired last year. This is a civil service system. It is not a private system. It rules under the Constitution and under the rule of law. That is the difference between working for the Federal Government and working for a private employer. I speak in strong support of the Preventing a Patronage System Act-- note that word--Patronage System Act, of which I am a cosponsor. This bill would prevent a future President from reimposing the schedule F scheme that would move tens of thousands of career employees into positions that would essentially be a new form of political appointment. The nonpartisan, apolitical civil service system is critically important to how our government functions. President Trump attempted to--former President Trump attempted to illegally create this new class of Federal employees, in contravention of the Constitution and, more specifically, these employees' rights. We need to encourage the best to join the Federal Government, and this type of ploy by the prior administration would hinder that effort; instead, allowing an administration to engage in a patronage system. The government needs experts, not political cronies. I appreciate Congressman Connolly for introducing this important bill, and I am pleased to be able to speak in support of it.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Chair, I missed one committee of the whole vote due to committee activity. Had I been present, I would have voted ``YEA'' on rollcall No. 436. Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress Baird (Bucshon) Barragan (Beyer) Bass (Correa) Brooks (Fleischmann) Bush (Bowman) Carter (GA) (Mace) Cawthorn (Boebert) Cleaver (Davids (KS)) Conway (Valadao) Cuellar (Garcia (TX)) DeSaulnier (Beyer) Dingell (Kuster) Fallon (Nehls) Johnson (TX) (Jeffries) Jones (Beyer) Khanna (Jeffries) Kilmer (Jeffries) Kirkpatrick (Pallone) Lawson (FL) (Evans) McCaul (Van Duyne) McEachin (Beyer) Moore (WI) (Beyer) Newman (Beyer) Norman (Duncan) Palazzo (Fleischmann) Pingree (Kuster) Rice (NY) (Deutch) Rush (Bowman) Ryan (OH) (Correa) San Nicolas (Jeffries) Sanchez (Pallone) Schiff (Deutch) Scott (VA) (Beyer) Scott, Austin (Cammack) Stansbury (Pallone) Swalwell (Correa) Wasserman Schultz (Soto) Wexton (Beyer)

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I thank my good friend, the chair of our committee, for yielding time. I come to speak in strong support of the Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act, of which I am a cosponsor. I especially appreciate this bill since, as a Member of Congress for the District of Columbia, many Federal employees are my constituents. Importantly, this bill would expand whistleblower protections and ensure due process and enable relief for whistleblowers. We should appreciate and celebrate our Federal employees, especially our whistleblowers, and I am particularly pleased that this bill would clarify that Federal employees cannot be retaliated against for sharing information with Congress. It is important that Congress have full information about the operations of our government, and this good-governance measure will help with that goal. I am grateful to Chairwoman Maloney for introducing this important bill, and I am pleased to speak in support of it.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 884, as amended.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5774) to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that unmet needs after a major disaster are met, as amended.