Eleanor Norton

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to note the House's passage of the Equality Act (H.R. 5), to afford nationwide protection against discrimination for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, education, public service and spaces, federally funded programs and federal jury service. Equality for all Americans has long been one of my signature issues, but my work for equal treatment for the LGBTQ community has had to have an additional dimension. Republicans have often tried to use the District of Columbia's unequal status as a weapon against the LGBTQ community. Opponents of equality for the LGBTQ community have consistently targeted the District to pass their discriminatory agenda. I have fought them off at every turn, beginning with protecting D.C.'s domestic partnerships law, ahead of its time in 1992, defending the District's marriage equality and same-sex adoptions laws, and protecting D.C.'s law that prohibits religiously affiliated schools from denying LGBTQ students access to services and facilities. In addition, I recently reintroduced bills to protect LGBTQ jurors from discrimination in local D.C. courts, action only Congress can take because of the requirements of the Home Rule Act, and to end the unique applicability of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to the District. The Equality Act is uniquely comprehensive. Historically, when Congress has passed civil rights legislation, it typically has done so by category, whether in employment, or housing, or the rest. However, the Equality Act, encompassing all forms of typical discrimination, sends a special message. It is too late for anything except legislation that takes on discrimination against our LGBTQ community once and for all. The Equality Act also fills a large space I have tried to fill ever since being elected to Congress. My work for the LGBTQ community has come naturally. As a lifelong fighter for equal rights, I have always seen congressional failure to address discrimination against the LGBTQ community as no different from congressional failure to bar segregation in the public schools I attended as a child in the District, or to address discrimination in voting rights and public accommodations I went to Mississippi to fight as a student in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The Equality Act stands for the impossibility of parsing discrimination. The history of discrimination in the United States teaches that all bigotry is unacceptable.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, women who celebrate 100 years of suffrage this year have in common with the residents of the Nation's Capital this: denial of equal rights in their democracy, requiring decades of fighting. It took 132 years since the Nation's founding for women to get the vote. It has taken 218 years, and still counting, for D.C. residents to achieve statehood, which includes voting rights and all the rights that come with equal citizenship. We are grateful that as we move forward to a formal vote on statehood, the House has already endorsed D.C. statehood in H.R. 1. Today, women set the pace in our democracy, outvoting men in national elections. D.C. residents yearn to join them in showing that those who are denied their rights know how to use them after fighting to achieve them.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Courts Home Rule Act. This bill would give the Council of the District of Columbia authority over the jurisdiction and organization of the local D.C. courts. The 1973 Home Rule Act (HRA) expressly prohibits D.C. from enacting any law with respect to any provision of the D.C. Code title that relates to the local D.C. courts. Congress can correct this injustice to the District's tax paying residents by amending the HRA, even before the District becomes the 51st state. Forty-six years after passage of the HRA, matters involving the D.C. courts almost never come to Congress, so Congress knows virtually nothing about the District's courts--and could not care less. Notwithstanding the importance of D.C.'s courts to District residents, the D.C. Council, which is the repository of knowledge and experience for the District's criminal and civil justice systems and the body accountable to our residents, is irresponsibly left on the sidelines while Congress remains the sole entity to correct flaws in the District's courts. Under the HRA, the D.C. Council has no authority to ``enact any act, resolution, or rule with respect to any provision of title 11 of the District of Columbia Code (relating to organization and jurisdiction of the District of Columbia courts).'' Matters in title 11 are limited primarily to rules of criminal and civil procedure, court administration, the number of authorized judges, the branches of the courts, the rules of jury service and admission to the bar. Our bill would strike this limitation on the D.C. Council's authority. The District has never had authority over its local courts, even when it was responsible for paying for their operations. Under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, the federal government assumed the costs for several state-level functions, including the courts because it alone has jurisdiction over these courts. This bill, an important first step, would not change the courts' funding. This bill also would not affect the authority of the President to nominate, or the Senate to confirm, local D.C. judges, which has been within their purview since the creation of the modern local court system in 1970. This bill is an important step to increase democratic self-government for the District. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Banning Smoking on Amtrak Act of 2019. My bill would simply codify Amtrak's internal policy prohibiting smoking, including of electronic cigarettes, on its trains. This bill is modeled on a bill I got enacted as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) that clarified that the smoking ban on airplanes includes electronic cigarettes. Although Amtrak implemented its own internal policy banning smoking on its trains in 1993, that policy could always be repealed, though Amtrak has not indicated it would do so. My bill would make the ban a matter of federal law and put Congress on the record in support of protecting people from secondhand smoke. Smoking bans have been a critical tool in protecting people from the effects of secondhand smoke, known to increase the risk for serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases like coronary heart disease, lung cancer and emphysema, among others. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the tobacco epidemic to be one of the biggest public health threats in the world, killing more than seven million people a year. While more than six million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, around 890,000 non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke are also killed every year. Under my bill, smoking would be banned on Amtrak trains in the same manner as airline travel. According to the WHO, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. Even short-term exposure can potentially increase the risk of heart attacks. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, we celebrate our colleague and friend Ronald Dellums at a time of historic polarization in Congress. It is a good time to remember the peace advocate who chaired the Armed Services Committee with such equanimity that he won the respect, even the friendship, of those who opposed every cause, of the many into which Ron poured his considerable talent. I first came to admire Ron even before being elected to Congress from my work in the Free South Africa anti-apartheid movement. For 14 years, Ron did not relent until he freed his landmark bill for South Africa divestment, overcoming a presidential veto. By the time I was elected to Congress, Ron had already been chair of the District of Columbia Committee for more than a decade. That committee is long gone, and nothing would have pleased Chairman Dellums more than its demise. But when freedom-loving Ron Dellums first came to Congress, he knew that if there had to be such a Committee, he wanted a seat on it. Just as Ron sought peace by serving on the Armed Service Committee, he sought to free D.C. from congressional control by serving on the D.C. Committee. He joined the D.C. Committee during his very first term in Congress. Upon becoming chair of the Committee, Ron framed his service as ``an advocate, not an overseer of District affairs.'' No sooner had Ron gotten to Congress in 1975, in his very first term, long before I even thought about becoming a Member, he introduced the first D.C. statehood bill. Ron would relish our progress today as we close in on enough votes for the D.C. statehood bill to pass in the House this term. We expect a vote soon in the Oversight and Reform Committee to send the bill to the House Floor. When that committee vote occurs, we will not be able to claim we are breaking new or historic ground. In 1987, more than 30 years ago, Chairman Ron Dellums proclaimed, ``There should be no colonies in a democracy'' and led the District Committee in a vote for statehood for the District of Columbia that passed in his Committee. The American citizens who live in the nation's capital will forever remember Ron Dellums, prescient warrior for equality and freedom--and well ahead of his time--a leader for statehood for the District of Columbia.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 44th Capital Pride Celebration, which will take place on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. From May 31 to June 9, 2019, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and others (LGBTQ+) communities and their allies in the National Capital Region will ``shhhOUT, Past, Present & Proud.'' On Father's Day of June 15, 1975, Deacon MacCubbin, owner of the Lambda Rising Bookstore in Dupont Circle began Gay Pride Day as a block party on 20th Street, between R and S Streets NW. Pride Day outgrew the curbs and sidewalks of 20th Street and moved to Francis Junior High School in 1980. The next year, a Pride Parade from Meridian Hill Park to Dupont Circle joined the renamed Gay and Lesbian Pride Day. Over the years, the Pride festival has changed both in location and participation. In 1995, Pride Day moved to Freedom Plaza and on Sunday, June 8, 1997, a retitled Capitol Pride Festival opened on Pennsylvania Avenue. In 1991, D.C. Black Pride joined the Pride Celebration followed by Youth Pride in 1997. As momentum grew, D.C. Leather Pride began in 2006, while Transgender and Latinx Pride began in 2007. This year, Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) inaugurate API Pride, and seniors over 60 years of age observe Silver Pride. Each June, Capital Pride recognizes individuals and organizations that have advanced causes important to the LGBTQ+ community in the National Capital Region. The Paving The Way Award acknowledges an individual or organization that has provided exemplary contributions, support or advocacy that impacts the larger LGBTQ+ community. The Alliance proudly awards the 2019 Paving The Way Award to The Washington Blade, America's LGBTQA Newspaper of Record. The 2019 Hero Award recipients are Kimberley Bush, Director of Arts and Cultural Programs at the DC Center for the LGBT Community; Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force; Martin Espinoza, co-founder and President of Stonewall Sports; Ben de Guzman, Acting Director of the D.C. Mayor's Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs; Amanda J. Hackett, Esq., an attorney in private practice who specializes in immigration matters for LGBTQ+ communities; and Tony ``And I Thank You'' Nelson, one of D.C.'s leading and most respected emcees and comedians. Capital Pride gives the Engendered Spirit Award to outstanding advocates, activists and supporters of the transgender community. This year's recipients are: Xemiyulu Mariibusan Tapepechul, a Nawat Trans Femme from Kuskatan (El Salvador) and Larry Villegas-Perez, a Native American-Hispanic born in Venezuela. Donald Burch, III and Alan Thompson receive the Bill Miles Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service. The Larry Stansbury Award for Exemplary Contributions to Pride goes to Team DC, the association of LGBTQ+ sports clubs in the DMV region. Capital Pride also awarded the National Center for Transgender Equality the Breaking Barriers: Community Impact Award. I have marched in the Pride Parade since my election to Congress. I look forward to marching this year. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 44th Capital Pride Celebration.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. Madam Speaker, the administration's guidance permitting junk plans to replace the Affordable Healthcare Act has fooled no one, and certainly not the millions with preexisting conditions and those who now enjoy essential health benefits. The administration's true intent is clear from its support, in court now, as I speak, of a case to repeal the ACA in its entirety, including preexisting conditions. Republicans, historically, have initially opposed virtually every form of coverage for the American people, including Social Security, but they have never succeeded in withdrawing or reducing benefits then in use. They will not succeed this time. In my own District of Columbia, 106,000 residents with preexisting conditions would lose or risk losing or being denied or charged significantly more for health coverage. The District, on its own, has succeeded in overcoming Republican attempts to weaken the ACA and now has reached virtually universal coverage, in spite of a specific attempt to block the city's successful efforts. The administration's junk coverage is particularly untenable in allowing Federal subsidies of junk plans. Republicans failed to overturn the ACA when they controlled majorities in both the House and the Senate. Plans that the administration has put forward to dismember the Act will not succeed either. Because of how insurance works, junk plans put all insured at risk of paying more for insurance. Today, we intend to expose and defeat the administration's dangerous substitution for the Affordable Healthcare Act.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 29th annual D.C. Black Pride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This Memorial Day week the National Capital Region welcomes members of the African American LGBTQ community to celebrate ``Our Truths In Harmony'' at the 29th annual D.C. Black Pride. The festivities begin May 20th at 5:00 p.m. with the Damian Ministries' Black Pride Kick Off Reception and they close at 6:00 p.m. May 27th with Helping Us People Into Living's ``Pride In the Park'' festival at Fort DuPont Park. On May 21st, D.C. Black Pride honors its 2019 award winners at the D.C. Black Pride Awards Reception. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President and Chief Executive Derrick Johnson receives the President's Award. The 2019 Welmore Cook Awards go to Bishop Allyson Nelson Abrams, founder prelate and pastor of Empowerment Liberation Cathedral, her spouse, Bishop Emerita Diana Williams, and Dr. Dii-Quartelai Quartey of the National Association of Retired Persons (NAARP) and the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Steven ``Kahos'' Wilson, Founder and CEO of Ovah the Top Productions and Executive Director of the OASIS Dance Company, receives the Unsung Hero Award. Black Pride recognizes True Colors United Senior Program Officer Kahlib Barton with the Leadership Award. Shi-Queeta Lee, noted DMV Drag Entertainer and costume designer, is honored with the Earline Budd Award. Black Pride acknowledges U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Impact Specialist Derrick Caomei ``Strawberry'' Cox as the Charlotte Smallwood Volunteer of the Year for 2019. Gail Oliver and Nana Amuah-Afenyi VI (born Peggielene Bartles, known informally as ``King Peggy''), chief of Tatum Ghana, receive the Curtis L. Etherly, Jr., Ally Award. Michael Beale of Mb Staffing Services, LLC, receives the D.C. Black Pride Small Business Award. This year, Black Pride initiates the Alan Sharpe Award for contributions to art by awarding it to its namesake, Alan Sharpe, Founding Artistic Director of Washington, D.C.'s African-American Collective Theater. Black Pride continues through Memorial Day with town halls, educational workshops, a poetry slam hosted by Mary Bowman, an interfaith worship service, and social events, including breakfasts, brunches, dinners and happy hours. D.C. Black and Lesbian Gay Pride Day began my first year in Congress. On Sunday, May 26, 1991, 800 people gathered at Banneker Field on Georgia Avenue. I have watched it mature from an ad hoc event to one of the world's preeminent Black Pride celebrations. Now D.C. Black Pride draws more than 50,000 participants from the United States, Africa, Europe and the Americas to our nation's capital. D.C. Black Pride fostered the beginning of the Center for Black Equity (formerly known as the International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.) and the ``Black Pride Movement,'' which now consists of 53 Black Prides on four continents. I commend the volunteer Advisory Board that assists Earl D. Fowlkes, Jr., Jeffrey Richardson, Michael S. Hinson, Jr., C. Hawkins, Kenya Hutton and Genise Chamber-Woods in the planning and execution of D.C. Black Pride. As Black Pride comes to town, I also take this opportunity to inform the celebrants and to remind my colleagues of the various limitations Congress has placed on the District of Columbia. Despite paying more federal taxes than 22 states and paying the highest per capita federal taxes in the United States, the residents of Washington, D.C. still do not have full voting representation in Congress. I ask the House to join me in welcoming all attending the 29th annual D.C. Black Pride celebration.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill, the Federal Government Advertising Equity Accountability Act, to require all federal agencies to include in their annual budget requests to Congress the amount they spend on advertising contracts with small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) and businesses owned by minorities and women. Federal agencies would be required to provide prior and projected total expenditures for such contracts. Representatives Barbara Lee and Gwen Moore are cosponsors of this bill. In 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined spending on advertising contracts with minority-owned businesses by five agencies--the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of the Interior and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration--and found that only five percent of the $4.3 billion available for advertising contracts went to minority businesses. In light of these concerning figures, several Members of Congress and I sent a letter to the GAO in April 2016 requesting updated information on the amount of federal advertising dollars spent with SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. That GAO report, released in July 2018, showed that in fiscal year 2017, only 16 percent of the federal government's advertising contract obligations went to SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. The federal government is the largest advertiser in the United States, and it has an obligation to ensure equitable access to its contracts for SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women. The GAO's findings make it clear that there is still much progress to be made. The regular collection of information on federal advertising contracts with SDBs and businesses owned by women and minorities, along with the provision of this information to legislators and stakeholders, is essential to bridging the divide between what current statistics show and a more inclusive advertising landscape. This bill would achieve these goals while also promoting transparency and encouraging federal agencies to strive to reach minorities, who often receive their daily news from smaller media outlets that serve communities of color. The requirement that agencies submit prior and projected information regarding the amount of advertising dollars spent with SDBs and businesses owned by minorities and women would allow federal agencies to evaluate their progress over time. The regular collection of this information would also demonstrate that the promotion of equity in advertising, and in all areas of government, should be a continuous effort that is important to the mission of every agency. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Roger Addison, who served as a dedicated employee of the House of Representatives for 31 years under six Clerks of the House. Born at D.C. General Hospital, Roger is a true Washingtonian. He began his tenure as a busboy and dishwasher in the Longworth cafeteria before becoming a laborer in House Furnishings. Having worked as a D.C. cab driver and chauffeur, Roger then became a driver under former House Clerk Donnald K. Anderson. Roger took computer classes and secured a position as a Public Information Specialist in the newly formed Legislative Resource Center. In time, Roger was promoted to Registration and Compliance Clerk. He met his wife, Cassandra, while walking in the Longworth tunnel, and he will tell you it was love at first sight. They have been married for 18 years. They raised six children and have 11 grandchildren. Cassandra is responsible for convincing Roger to start wearing bowties, now his signature look. Outside of the House, Roger is an avid golfer and often vacations with his family in the Carolinas. He loves to travel, and, as many of his colleagues will attest, he famously holds down the dance floor during the Clerk's annual holiday party. He is a deacon at Ambassador Baptist Church, and he is a Mason. Roger is affectionately known as the ``Mayor of Capitol Hill.'' He will be missed by his colleagues and the Members who have come to know him. We all wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement. Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Roger Addison for his service and dedication.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for his important work on this urgent bill. It is too late to overstate the urgency of the climate crisis. It has already assumed emergency status in parts of the world, including parts of States like Florida. The threatened withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate accord should be considered an international crime. The United States is the only nation to threaten to withdraw from the agreement, but others, such as Brazil, seem willing to follow our lead. I am encouraged, though, that in our country, even though we have record polarization today, Americans overwhelmingly want the United States to remain in the agreement. The absurdity of sealing our own fate by faking blindness to the climate catastrophe is not lost on the American people we represent. This is the most serious issue faced by the Congress of the United States in our history. We must vote for the life, not the end of the planet.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I am introducing the Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2019, a version of which I have introduced since 1994, after working with the District of Columbia residents who were responsible for the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion ballot initiative, passed by D.C. voters in 1993. My bill still requires the United States to sign and ratify an international agreement to disable and dismantle America's nuclear weapons, to provide for strict control of fissile material and radioactive waste and to use nuclear-free energy. In lieu of joining such an agreement, this new version of the bill also gives the United States the option to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Treaty). Many nations have already signed onto the Treaty. The Treaty was drafted by the United Nations in conferences in March and July of 2017, which is why I did not include it in my previous bills. According to the United Nations, the Treaty is ``a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.'' I am pleased by the international progress on this important issue. Our bill continues to provide that the funds used for nuclear weapons programs be redirected to human and infrastructure needs, such as housing, health care, Social Security, restoring the environment and creating carbon-free, nuclear-free energy. The conversion to a peace economy would occur when the President certifies to Congress that all countries possessing nuclear weapons have begun elimination under an international treaty or other legal agreement. The bill is particularly timely considering the ongoing nuclear threat from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Our country still has a long list of urgent domestic needs that have been put on the back-burner. As the only nation that has used nuclear weapons in war, and that still possesses one of the largest nuclear weapons arsenals, I urge support for my bill to help the United States reestablish its moral leadership in the world by redirecting funds that would otherwise go to nuclear weapons to urgent domestic needs. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, in recognition of April as Second Chance Month, I introduce the Ensuring Successful Reentry Act of 2019, a bill to eliminate so-called ``subsistence fees.'' Federal law currently requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to impose a subsistence fee on the income of offenders living in residential reentry centers (RRCs), supposedly to promote financial responsibility by requiring RRC residents to pay a portion of their housing costs. The fee is currently 25 percent. However, many offenders living in RRCs often work minimum wage jobs, so the loss of 25 percent of their paychecks is a significant hurdle to successful reentry, and it makes it extremely difficult for them to save money for rent, pay child support, or fines and fees associated with their conviction (such as restitution). Recently, BOP eliminated the subsistence fee for offenders on home confinement, who cost BOP almost nothing for maintenance. Far from promoting financial responsibility, subsistence fees actually prevent returning citizens from meeting their financial obligations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already recognized how ``counterproductive'' subsistence fees are, both for offenders and BOP. In a November 2016 memo, then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates noted that BOP's ``process for collecting these subsistence fees is costly and administratively burdensome for both RRC's and [BOP],'' and called for DOJ to ``develop a plan to limit the use of counterproductive `subsistence' fees imposed on indigent residents.'' BOP can already waive subsistence fees in certain situations for residents of RRCs, but only a change in federal law can remove this unnecessary barrier to reentry. We should not be imposing additional burdens on returning citizens, setting them up to fail, especially those who are employed and working toward independence from the criminal justice system. Jobs and affordable housing are crucial components in ensuring successful reentry--charging subsistence fees is antithetical to this goal. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in celebrating the International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC). For the past 16 years, the IFLC has been showcasing both international diversity and the talent of our youth through poetry, song and dance from their cultures. This year, Washington, D.C. is one of many world capitals co-hosting the IFLC. More than 80 participants from over 16 countries are invited to perform. This event brings together young students, parents, teachers and volunteers to promote diversity. These talented student- performers work tirelessly for several months in anticipation of meeting American audiences, including members of the U.S. Congress. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the students, parents, teachers and volunteers of the International Festival of Language and Culture for their efforts.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, in recognition of April being Second Chance Month, I introduce the Fairness in Federal Bureau of Prisons Medical Care Act of 2019. This bill would remove the current copay Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmates are required to pay to visit a BOP-provided doctor. Under current BOP rules, inmates are required to ``pay a fee for health services of $2.00 per health care visit.'' While $2.00 may seem insignificant, when inmates earn only twelve to forty cents per hour on their work assignments, $2.00 is substantial. That money could better be used to pay for the cost of necessities. Moreover, while copays can discourage unnecessary appointments, we should be encouraging inmates to seek medical care before conditions become worse and more expensive for taxpayers. Preventative care is much less expensive for the federal government than costly treatment that could have been avoided by a simple doctor's visit earlier in the process. That is what medical science advises for Americans as a health practice. Under current BOP rules, if an inmate is found responsible through the Disciplinary Hearing Process of having caused another inmate's injury that required a medical visit, the offending inmate is required to pay the $2.00 copay for the injured inmate's visit. That rule would not change under my bill. Removing this unnecessary copay would allow inmates to see a doctor and receive the medical treatment they need, and would likely save the federal government money in the long run. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Nelson Carbonell, who has dedicated many years to The George Washington University (GWU), especially as the Chair of its Board of Trustees for the past six years. Carbonell's service to GWU has been a labor of love. Carbonell first walked through the university's Professor's Gate as a teenager in the fall of 1981 during his freshman year as a scholarship student. He was eager to learn and fulfill his ambitions to become an engineer. From those first years as an undergraduate to his later years as a highly successful alumnus, Carbonell's devotion to GWU has only grown. There is no part of the university's academic, civic, athletic and cultural life that Carbonell has not touched in some way, shape or form. Among his many contributions to GWU, Carbonell and his wife, Michele, have established an academic center within the university's athletics department to provide educational support services to student athletes. Together, they established the Nelson and Michele Carbonell Engineering Scholarship and created an endowed professorship at GWU's new Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Initiative. Over the years, Nelson Carbonell has been important to individual students and has made key contributions that help to ensure the university remains ever-committed to its missions of educating future citizen leaders and generating ideas that have a real-world impact. Carbonell was instrumental in helping GWU select its last two presidents, whose ideas and influence on a university's culture can be as enduring as any building. He was also crucial to the construction of the largest academic building dedicated to science and engineering in Washington, D.C., as well as of the new, state-of-the-art Milken School for Public Health. Carbonell spearheaded the largest philanthropic campaign in GWU's history, which will empower the university to produce consequential graduates and ideas for generations. Carbonell's pervasive positive influence on both GWU and the greater D.C. community stems not only from his abiding affection for the university, but also from his intellectual curiosity, generosity of spirit, entrepreneurial drive and his considerable leadership skills. As a leader, Carbonell demonstrated his keen ability to bring various members of the community together so each person's individual talents and role were utilized in service of the greater good. I ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Nelson Carbonell for his leadership and selfless service during his time at The George Washington University.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act. My bill would 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 where the property is located. Individuals living in federally assisted housing should not be denied admission, or fear eviction, for using a legal product. Adult use and/ or medical marijuana is currently legal in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and over 90 percent of Americans support legalized medical marijuana. Under current federal law, the users of drugs that are illegal under federal law, including marijuana, are prohibited from being admitted into federally assisted housing. Moreover, federal law allows landlords to evict residents of federally assisted housing for drug use. Even the Food and Drug Administration has recently supported approving certain medication made from cannabis, including Eipdiolex, which would be administered as a syrup. Eipdiolex is used to treat children who suffer from seizures. Notably, the drug does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. For the last several years, Congress has prohibited the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using federal funds to prevent jurisdictions from implementing their medical marijuana laws. This bill would similarly allow individuals to use marijuana in federally assisted housing in compliance with the state's marijuana laws. Under my bill, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must also develop regulations that restrict smoking marijuana in federally assisted housing in the same manner and to the same locations as the Secretary restricts smoking tobacco in federally assisted public housing. HUD, like DOJ, should not be allowed to enforce federal marijuana laws where states have taken action to legalize marijuana. The Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act states that a person may not be denied federally assisted housing based on the use of marijuana in compliance with the marijuana laws of the state where the property is located. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in honoring members of ``El Corols Band and Show'' (El Corols) on their 60th reunion celebration, which will take place on Sunday, April 28, 2019, at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest, Washington, D.C. In 1959, a group of students in the music department at Shaw Junior High School formed El Corols, the first rhythm and blues band in the District of Columbia. El Corols was highly sought-after for school and private parties all over the city and beyond. The band performed for many charitable and community organizations throughout the city. During the summer, the group spent the majority of its time performing at Carr's Beach, a public beach for African Americans in Annapolis, Maryland. (African Americans were not welcome at any of the ``white'' beaches. Although our nation was segregated, many found comfort and joy through the vibrant musical talents of El Corols.) The band consisted of teenagers, yet the members were honored and privileged to be the ``house band'' at the beach. The band was presented with opportunities to perform and accompanied many of the famous stars of that era, including Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells, Bobby ``Blue'' Bland, Billy Stewart, Gene Chandler, and James Brown, to name a few. As teenagers, the band members had no idea that they were making history. They were simply excited about playing music and entertaining. The apex of El Corols' experience was their performance with Nat King Cole in 1963 at Eastern High School, where United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was an honored guest. Another highlight of El Corols' experience was the invitation to perform at the Debutante Cotillion of New York Socialite Fernanda Wetherhill Wannamaker in South Hampton, Long Island. As the members of El Corols reflect on their teenage years, they continue to cherish the lifelong memories and experiences they were afforded simply due to their dedication to and love of music. El Corols is indebted to its manager, Captain William Rumsey, who was Dunbar High School's Military Science Teacher. Captain Rumsey later became the Principal of McKinley Technical High School, and upon his retirement from the public school system, he became Director of the District of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department. Captain Rumsey was a strict disciplinarian and assured the band members' parents that they were in capable hands and would be well cared for under his management. Captain Rumsey never failed in his commitment to the band and stands in a proud space in history alongside the members of El Corols. Madam Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize the rich history of El Corols on the occasion of its 60th reunion. I ask my colleagues to join me in this recognition.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Local Juror Non-Discrimination Act of 2019. This bill would clarify that D.C. residents may not be excluded or disqualified from jury service in the D.C. Superior Court based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Specifically, my bill would clarify that ``sex,'' which is a protected class under the non-discrimination law that currently applies to local D.C. jurors, includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the Home Rule Act, Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over Title 11 of the D.C. Code (relating to organization and jurisdiction of the local D.C. courts). The District has one of the strongest non-discrimination laws in the country, including protecting individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, under the Home Rule Act, the District does not have the authority to make this non-discrimination law applicable to local jurors. Therefore, until the District is given complete control over the jurisdiction and organization of its local courts, an act of Congress is required to make this important change to protect the rights of all D.C. residents. I will soon be introducing a bill to give the District local control of its courts. In the meantime, however, the District of Columbia Local Juror Non-Discrimination Act of 2019 is necessary to protect D.C. jurors from discrimination. My bill is based on H.R. 874, the Juror Non-Discrimination Act of 2019 (H.R. 874), which would make the same changes to federal jury law. I am a proud original cosponsor of that bill. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, D.C. makes a big deal of Emancipation Day. That is the day that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the Nation's Capital 9 months before the Emancipation Proclamation freed the rest. You will forgive us if we say that it is hardly enough that more than 150 years later, the residents of your Nation's Capital, White and Black, are number one in Federal taxes paid to support this Republic but have no final vote, like the vote just cast in this House on the House floor, and no Senators whatsoever. Emancipation Day will mark the day when we will celebrate H.R. 51 to make the District of Columbia the 51st State. Lincoln freed the slaves in the District of Columbia. Congress must pass H.R. 51 to make freedom mean equality for the residents of your Nation's Capital with all other Americans.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I have the honor of representing the oldest continuously functioning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) organization in the United States. Today, I rise to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 48th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA). GLAA is Washington's premier LGBTQ organization. Washingtonians know that GLAA champions the District of Columbia's full and equal rights. It calls for stronger enforcement of D.C.'s comprehensive landmark Human Rights Act of 1977. GLAA helped form and marshall the grassroots coalition of D.C. residents and elected officials that resulted in the enactment of the District of Columbia Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act. D.C. recognized same-sex marriages five years before the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. GLAA advocates on behalf of LGBTQ youth and seniors. It demands the right of equal treatment for transgender individuals by the police and access to culturally competent healthcare. GLAA educates local officeholders and office seekers on LGBTQ issues. It also nurtures and builds coalitions with other constituencies to advance LGBTQ causes and to defend the District's autonomy. At its 48th anniversary reception on April 18, 2019, GLAA will recognize the 2019 Distinguished Service Awards recipients: Center Global, a program of the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community. Matt Corso and Eric Scharf co-founded Center Global in 2012. Under their guidance, Center Global supported nearly 300 asylum-seekers through this nation's immigration processes. The asylees come from nations on the African continent, Eastern Europe, Russia, the former Soviet bloc, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Center Global follows a unique model. It provides access to healthcare, legal assistance, financial support, and most importantly, a safe LGBTQ peer community that is often unattainable in D.C.-area diasporas. Its program includes case-management services; monthly support dinner and volunteers meetings; community and Capitol Hill education and outreach initiatives; partnerships with the Human Rights Campaign and D.C.-area social support and asylum organizations; and the annual May fundraising reception. Center Global is a volunteer-staffed program, led by its executive committee (Tom Sommers, Chair, and Eric Scharf, Vice Chair) under the D.C. Center's administrative umbrella. Compassion & Choices led the lobbying for the D.C. Death with Dignity Act of 2016, which became law in 2017. Compassion & Choices envisions a society that affirms life and accepts the inevitability of death, embraces expanded options for compassionate dying and empowers people to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities and beliefs. It is a nationwide organization that works to ensure that healthcare providers honor and enable patients' decisions about their care. Compassion & Choices works in communities, state legislatures, Congress, courts and medical settings to educate the public about the importance of documenting end- of-life values and priorities and about the full range of available end-of-life care. It empowers individuals with options, information and advice for guiding their care and engaging with providers. Compassion & Choices advocates for expanded choices, secure and ready access to them and improved medical practice that puts patients first and values quality of life in treatment plans for terminal illness, and it defends existing end-of-life options from efforts to restrict access. Diego Miguel Sanchez, APR is Director of Advocacy, Policy & Partnerships for PFLAG National. Mr. Sanchez was Congressman Barney Frank's Senior Policy Advisor from 2009 until the Congressman's retirement 2013. Diego made history as the first openly transgender senior legislative staffer on Capitol Hill. He testified before Congress in the first transgender discrimination hearing. He became the first openly transgender individual appointed to the Democratic National Committee Platform Committee. Diego was Director of Public Relations and External Affairs at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and AIDS Action Council (DC). Previously, he was Director of the TransHealth/LGBT Health Access Project at JRI Health in Boston. He led the nation's only government-funded transgender healthcare program. Diego worked 20 award-winning years in global public relations, marketing, and diversity management globally with Fortune 500 companies: The Coca-Cola Company, Holiday Inn Worldwide, ITT Sheraton and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. He did media relations for Burson-Marsteller/NY, then the world's largest public relations firm. Hispanic Business Magazine included Diego among the 100 Most Powerful Latino/s in Corporate America. He has been recognized as a LGBT Latino Hero, one of the 100 most powerful Latino/s (Poderometro), in the Out 100, and in the Inaugural Trans 100. He was a founding member of the Gender Identity in U.S. Surveillance (GenIUSS) group, and Q Street named him ``Best Congressional Staffer''. Diego earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a major in Public Relations from the University of Georgia (UGA), serves on the Journalism Alumni Advisory Board and is a member of G-Club, the University's varsity letterwinners' club. Diego happens to be the only male Bulldog to earn his letter playing on a women's team, UGA's women's tennis team. Diego is a Senior Fellow at UMass Boston's College of Management. I ask the House to join me in honoring the recipients of GLAA's 2019 Distinguished Service Award and celebrating GLAA's 48 years of contributions to the LGBTQ community in the District of Columbia.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the District of Columbia Flood Prevention Act of 2019. The bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA) to include the nation's capital in the definition of ``coastal state.'' Our bill would correct an apparent oversight in the omission of the District of Columbia and would make the District eligible to receive federal funding and provide oversight for federally issued permits, facilities and actions that affect the coastal waters of the District. The District urgently needs the protection of the CZMA because of serious flood risks that currently affect federal assets, residents and businesses, including the National Mall and the cluster of downtown federal agencies. In an effort to reduce coastal flood risk, Congress has authorized a number of programs to help states and territories respond to floods and mitigate risk through resiliency projects. Among these programs, the CZMA provides planning and technical services to assist states in protecting, restoring and developing coastal communities and resources. Once the federal government approves a state's coastal management plan, the state becomes eligible for grants. Federal actions must be consistent with the state plans and vice versa. Even though the District is located on two rivers and has suffered substantial coastal floods in the past, D.C. was omitted from the list of eligible states and territories in the CZMA. This oversight probably occurred because the CZMA was passed in 1972--before the District achieved home rule. Of note, under Section 304 of the CZMA, ``coastal state[s]'' include the states and U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands and American Samoa). Absent from this definition is the District, even though the District, including the federal complex, is under a serious threat from rising sea levels. Because territories are included in the definition of ``coastal states,'' it appears that D.C.'s omission is a mistake, which only Congress can correct. Scientists have predicted that the tides on the Atlantic Coast could rise two to four feet by the year 2100, causing property worth as much as $7 billion in the District to be routinely under threat by floodwaters. This damage not only includes private homes and businesses, but the National Mall, federal buildings and three military bases located in the District. The Anacostia and Potomac Rivers are both tidally influenced, showing tangible salt water effects (and fish), and are part of an ``intertidal-zone'' existing between high and low maritime tides. In addition, the Maryland and Virginia coastal zones each include the tidal Potomac River, with Maryland's zone ending at the District line. Because of these factors, the District should be eligible under the CZMA just like the states and territories already listed in the CZMA. I urge support for this bill.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, a week from Tuesday will be what we call Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia. We use that occasion to point out the continued inequality of the residents who live in our Nation's Capital. Emancipation Day was the day when Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the District of Columbia. Yes, there were slaves working in the District of Columbia. It was considered a Southern State. He freed them 9 months before the Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves. Yet the residents of the Nation's Capital remain less free than any other Americans. Even without statehood, however, the people of the Nation's Capital have, indeed, made progress. Madam Speaker, I want to discuss the problems and the progress, especially as we come close to the point when we will bring our D.C. statehood bill to the floor and the House will vote whether to make the District the 51st State. We recognize we were the last to be free because we are not free yet. We won't be free until the District of Columbia becomes the 51st State of the United States of America. Now, I recognize, of course, there are no slaves living in the District of Columbia today. But there is not a single free and equal citizen resident of the District of Columbia. I cannot help but think of the stories that were told me of my great- grandfather, a runaway slave from Virginia. I am a third-generation Washingtonian. He was in the District of Columbia when Lincoln freed the slaves in the District of Columbia, but he was a runaway slave, so he was not free from slavery until 9 months later. His name was Richard Holmes. My family tells many stories about Richard Holmes. This runaway slave from the District of Columbia came here to work on the streets of the District of Columbia. Actually, he came to get away from slavery. I don't tell any heroic stories of Richard Holmes. I tell it the way it was told me. When nobody was looking, Richard Holmes just walked off that plantation. He found his way to the District of Columbia. There were not enough workers to build the streets of the District of Columbia, so he was able to get work on the streets building this city. I understand that slave owners went around the streets of the District of Columbia looking for their slaves. The man who owned Richard Holmes found him and went up to the straw boss and said: That is my slave. I have come to get him. The straw boss said: You called out a name. That man never answered to that name. No, he is a good worker. He is not your slave. That is how Richard Holmes, whose name was called out, by the slave owner, ``Richard,'' remained in the District of Columbia so I could become Eleanor Katherine Holmes and ultimately the Member who represents the District. ``Richard,'' they called out. By not answering to his name, Richard Holmes must have practiced for the day when the slaveholder would come looking for him. That is the kind of discipline I am trying to bring to my work in the Congress because freedom from slavery did not give the residents of the District of Columbia freedom. Yet we celebrate Emancipation Day. We are pleased that the slaves in the District of Columbia were freed earlier than the Emancipation Proclamation, but that is only because the Federal Government controlled the District of Columbia, and, therefore, Abraham Lincoln could say whether there would be slaves in the District of Columbia. In a real sense, the Federal Government still has control over the District of Columbia as I speak because the District does not even have full home rule. Yes, in 1973, the District did obtain self government. That means that the District has a Mayor and a city council and governs itself, except when the Congress of the United States decides to intrude. And intrude, it does. Until Democrats captured the majority this session, I have had to ward off bills to eliminate all the District's gun safety laws, for example. Intrusion can be very dangerous. Of course, now that Democrats are in the majority, such a bill does not have any chance of getting through. But I have spent most of my time in the Congress in the minority, and whatever I have had to do for the District or get to the District, I have had to do from that perch. Emancipation Day for the District is, yes, a day off for the District, a holiday. It is just that important to us. There are parades, and there are celebrations. But it is not like George Washington's birthday, and it is not like Abraham Lincoln's birthday. The reason that it is a celebration in the District of Columbia is to remind us, the 700,000 residents who live in the District of Columbia, of our continuing obligation to work until the District and its residents are entirely free. In this country, even small matters take work. I know because I have small matters pending. But even without the vote, I have been able to get three bills passed in only 3 months of the Congress. What it takes is work. What it takes is an insistence to keep going until you secure what residents deserve. If I have any frustration, it is not with the work I must do to make the District the 51st State. It is with the knowledge, according to the polls, that most Americans think that the residents of the District of Columbia, their Nation's Capital, have the very same rights that they do. Of course, I am on this floor this evening to make sure that they know we do not. The new Members who just spoke on the floor must have been shocked because they would have been among the Americans who would have thought we had the same rights that everyone else does before they were elected. Now, I don't want to say, look, I don't have any rights, and I can't do anything for the District. You can't face your challenges that way, Madam Speaker. I do vote in committee as the representative of the District of Columbia. I even vote on the House floor. When I first came to Congress, I reasoned that since I could vote in committee, I ought to be able to vote in the Committee of the Whole. Sometimes we meet in the Committee of the Whole, for example, to vote on amendments. So I went to the Democratic Speaker. It was a Democratic Speaker for the first 2 years I was in Congress, Tom Foley, and I asked to be able to vote on the floor of the House. He said: Eleanor, nobody ever said the District should be able to vote on the floor of the House, so I will have to ask advice from outside counsel. Tom Foley sent it to outside counsel. They came back, and they said: Yes, in the Committee of the Whole, if Congress votes to allow her to vote, she should be able to vote on the House floor. Because there was a Democratic majority, I was given the right to vote on the House floor. I will never forget what happened afterward. My Republican friends then sued the House for giving me the right to vote on the House floor. They lost in the district court. Then they took it to the court of appeals, and they lost in the court of appeals. They knew better than to take it to the Supreme Court of the United States. So I voted on the House floor then, and I am voting on the House floor again. I only regret that I have spent most of my time in Congress in the minority, and I have not had that right as often as the Americans I represent deserve. The District, of course, does not even have full local control. Madam Speaker, you would think that my Republican colleagues would be the first to give them that because the bywords for Republicans are ``federalism'' and ``local control.'' Instead, as I have indicated, they have spent years trying to interfere with the District's local control. The one thing that ought to guarantee Americans freedom from Federal interference, including the Congress of the United States, is localism. Time and again, I have asked my Republican colleagues to grant me that privilege that they think all Americans should have. The failure to give the District our full rights is not only a violation of every precept of the American creed, but a violation of treaties that the United States has signed. For example, in 1977, the United States signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Human Rights Committee, which has oversight over that treaty, has said that the United Nations ``remains concerned that residents of the District of Columbia do not enjoy full representation in Congress, a restriction that does not seem to be compatible with article 25 of the covenant,'' the covenant the United States has signed. One of the reasons it galls the residents of the District of Columbia not to have full rights is that, as this chart shows, the residents pay more Federal taxes than any of the 50 States. Take a look. Mississippi pays the lowest Federal taxes, but it is the District of Columbia at $12,000-plus per person that pays the highest. If you are from New York or California, Madam Speaker, if you are from Idaho or the other Washington, you pay fewer taxes per capita than the people I represent, but you have more rights than they do. Nothing better illustrates, I think, in a country where ``taxes'' is often a dirty word, the inequity of paying more taxes than Mississippi while Mississippi has every right the District of Columbia has. I cite Mississippi only because its residednts pay the lowest taxes per capita. Madam Speaker, there is a second and perhaps more important reason to claim our full citizenship. That, of course, is that the residents of your Nation's Capital have fought and died in every war, including the war that created the United States of America, the Revolutionary War. On this chart, we show the sacrifices during the 20th century when the United States fought major world wars. World War I, 635 D.C. casualties, that was more than three States. Understand, we are a city. We are smaller than most States, though about the size of seven States, but we had more casualties than three States. The Korean war, 575 D.C. casualties, that was more casualties than eight States. Moving on to World War II, we find 3,575 casualties. Note the number is going up, but that is more casualties than four States. Finally, the Vietnam war, 243 D.C. casualties, that was more than 10 States. It is one thing to have given your treasure; it is quite another to have given the lives of your citizens. The District, for most of its existence, has had fewer African Americans than White people. That is not the case today. It is about equal White and Black citizens. But, when I speak of war casualties, I am reminded of citizens who have especially distinguished themselves in time of war: The first African American general was born and raised in the District of Columbia; The first African American Air Force general was also born in the District of Columbia; The first African American Naval Academy graduate, born here in the District of Columbia; and The first African American Air Force Academy graduate, born in the District of Columbia. I cite these African Americans because the District was a segregated city as well. With segregation and no vote, you see African Americans distinguishing themselves in the Armed Forces of the United States, fighting for their country. So we move forward to today, and we see great progress on our statehood bill. Every Democratic Senator now backs the findings of H.R. 1. H.R. 1 is a democracy bill. It calls for many kinds of improvements in democracy, and in that bill is included findings that lay out the case for D.C. statehood. That means that those who have voted for H.R. 1 here in the House have also voted to approve statehood. The Senate has a similar bill, but with only three sections. It is Leader Chuck Schumer's bill. Their proposals are not as fulsome as H.R. 1, but has three major components: restoring the Voting Rights Act; establishing national automatic voter registration laws; and, yes, D.C. statehood. D.C. statehood, for Democratic Senators, ranks just that high, along with the national voting rights bills cited. In both of our Chambers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have been full- throated supporters of D.C. statehood. We are taking two paths to statehood, however, because so much of home rule remains unfinished. Most of home rule is done, but I think most Americans would be amazed to find out how much is not done. For example, the District's budget still has to come to the House of Representatives. We can get budget autonomy by vote of the House and the Senate without going all the way to statehood. Or, take a life-and-death matter. We are now in the midst of climate change with all kinds of weather we had not seen. If there are floods in the District of Columbia or hurricanes, the District of Columbia cannot call out its own D.C. National Guard. It has got to go to the President of the United States to ask him to call out the D.C. National Guard. For goodness' sake, by the time it goes up the chain of command, half of D.C. could be blown away. That is life and death. That is what every single State has, and D.C. can get that without statehood. So, while we recognize that in order to get statehood we would have a tough time in the Senate, we also rely on making sure that we complete home rule with matters having to do with the District of Columbia as another way to move toward getting more of our rights. Now, again, I don't want to leave the impression that because I don't have the final vote on the House floor I just can't get anything done. I have passed three laws--the third month of Congress, going into the fourth month--already, without being able to vote for those bills. And, I must say, I am very humbled, but I also am proud at the same time, that the organization that ranks Members of Congress has ranked me as the most effective Democrat in the Congress, and that is without having a vote. To quote them, they said: The Center defines legislative effectiveness as the ``proven ability to advance a Member's agenda items through the legislative process and into law.'' That means passing bills. And it went on to say that Norton's ranking is ``noteworthy because she is a nonvoting Member.'' I point that out because I don't want my residents, especially, to hear me here on the floor indicating how important statehood is to then say: Well, I don't guess Eleanor Holmes Norton can do anything for us until she finally gets statehood. I point out that I will be measured not by whether I got statehood. I may not get it. I will be measured by what I was able to get for the District of Columbia, whose residents voted for me to come to Congress. Yes, only statehood can give the District the bucket of rights, the full bucket it is entitled to. Only statehood can make the District fully equal to the residents of the States. Only statehood can mean for the District what it means for the smallest States, that you can have two Senators as well as a Member of the House. The District of Columbia has no Senators, so I have to do the work of both Houses. That is not how it is supposed to work. So, instead of being disheartened, I am, indeed, elated that we already have 202 sponsors, or cosponsors, for D.C. statehood. It takes 218 to pass the bill. People rushed onto the bill because of the knowledge that there is something wrong that there are people in our country who do not have the same rights that others have, and for no good reason. If you were to ask people, ``Well, why not?'' today they would not be able to tell you. Without going into elaborate detail, I will tell you that it was a fluke that the District does not have full rights, a fluke having to do with a mishap or an incident when the Capitol was in Philadelphia and the troops from the Revolutionary War marched on the then-Capitol demanding their pensions. The Framers were caught flat-footed and said: Oh, my goodness. We better make sure that the Capitol is not part of any State, and this is part of Pennsylvania. Well, of course, we know that that was cured long ago. The District should not be part of any State, doesn't want to be part of any State, but there are plenty of armed troops to protect the District from people marching on the District or the Capitol for their pensions or any other rights. I am grateful to represent the District of Columbia. I am grateful because I love a good fight. I loved it as a kid in the civil rights movement. I loved it when I grew up in the District of Columbia, going to segregated schools and recognizing that all I had to do was get a good education and I could get out of that too. But I take it as an honor and a privilege to represent residents who, in each and every way, are fully equal to each and every American and to do all that I possibly can to make that feeling reality in the United States of America. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. NORTON

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would exempt from federal government shutdowns the federal and independent civil and criminal justice system law enforcement agencies that are exclusively or primarily federally funded but have exclusive jurisdiction over District of Columbia matters. This bill is modeled on a provision I have been able to get enacted each year since the 2013 shutdown to exempt the D.C. government from shutdowns. This bill would exempt the following agencies from federal government shutdowns: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, D.C. Courts, D.C. Public Defender Service, D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission, and D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. These agencies are not under the District's control and are funded exclusively by the federal government, with one exception, the D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which is an independent agency within the D.C. government with federal members primarily, but not exclusively, funded by the federal government. However, these agencies provide critical local services to the District, including law enforcement, and should continue to function during a shutdown. Each of these agencies was adversely affected by the recent 35-day shutdown, including canceled services and furloughed employees. My bill would allow these agencies to continue to function during a shutdown, in much the same way that the D.C. government itself is now exempt from shutting down during a federal shutdown. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.