IV 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 842 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 20, 2012 Ms. Norton submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform RESOLUTION Recognizing the contributions of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman to the nation and to the equal rights and general welfare of the citizens of the District of Columbia.

Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has served 24 years in the Senate of the United States in faithful service to the citizens of the State of Connecticut, who elected him to the U.S. Senate for his fourth term in 2006; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman announced on January 18, 2012, that he would retire from the United States Senate at the end of the 112th Congress after serving four terms; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has been a champion for equal rights for all Americans throughout his life and throughout his service in the United States Senate; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman’s service to the nation was so exceptional that he was nominated for the office of Vice President of the United States by the Democratic National Convention in 2000, ran with Presidential Nominee Albert Gore, Jr. and together they garnered the plurality of the votes of the American people; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman was the principle author of the bill that created the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman rose to become chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and was so respected for his bipartisanship and excellent service that he was re-elected chairman of the committee even after becoming an Independent; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman’s accomplishments on many domestic, defense, and international matters of great importance to the United States have been recognized and honored; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has been a tireless leader on matters that have had deep and lasting effects on the District of Columbia and the national capital region throughout his service in the United States Senate and on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has served as chairman or ranking member of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the District of Columbia since 1999; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman served as the ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the District of Columbia during the 105th Congress; Whereas the more than 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia have all the obligations of United States citizenship, including payment of all Federal taxes, but do not have full voting representation in the United States Congress and do not have local autonomy free from congressional interference; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has provided indispensable leadership to the District of Columbia, which has no representation in the United States Senate, enabling both Chambers to consider and pass important District of Columbia legislation; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman was the sponsor of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 (S. 160; 111th Congress) to grant the District a voting seat in the United States House of Representatives and led the United States Senate to passage of the bill on February 26, 2009, by a vote of 61–37, the first such bill to be passed by the Senate since 1978; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman was the sponsor of the No Taxation Without Representation Act (107th, 108th, and 109th Congress) to grant the District of Columbia full voting representation in the United States Senate and House of Representatives, which the Committee on Governmental Affairs passed on October 9, 2002, by a vote of 9–0; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman introduced the New Columbia Admission Act (S. 3696; 112th Congress), to grant the District of Columbia statehood in the 112th Congress and got cosponsors for the bill; Whereas recently, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman turned his attention to budget autonomy for the District of Columbia when it became the emphasis of the District government, the only local government in the United States that cannot obligate or expend its local funds without congressional approval, and therefore incurs many operational difficulties and unnecessary costs; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman sponsored the District of Columbia Local Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 (S. 2345; 112th Congress), to grant the District the authority to obligate and expend its local funds without congressional approval and to set its own fiscal year; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has assisted in the administration of justice in the District of Columbia Courts system, most recently by ushering through the United States Senate legislation including the District of Columbia Courts and Public Defender Service Act of 2011 (S. 1379; 112th Congress), which was presented to the President on December 17, 2012; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has worked to eliminate barriers to full equality and self-government for District of Columbia residents as an original cosponsor of the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 (S. 2170; 112th Congress), approved by the United States Senate on November 30, 2012, and by the United States House of Representatives on December 19, 2012, under which District government employees will no longer be treated the same as Federal employees under the Hatch Act and instead will be treated the same as other local and State government employees, and the District government will operate under its own local Hatch Act, already adopted by the District government; Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has strengthened the District of Columbia economy, most recently by his work to get Senate passage of economic development bills, including the redevelopment of the Southwest and Southeast waterfronts, and by promoting the construction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters on the St. Elizabeths campus in Ward 8; and Whereas Senator Joseph I. Lieberman has supported critical education initiatives in the District of Columbia, such as the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program, which significantly reduces the cost of college tuition for District residents and has doubled college attendance by District residents: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)recognizes that Senator Joseph I. Lieberman is the Senate’s greatest living champion of equal rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia in his pursuit of statehood, equal representation and home rule for the District; and (2)commends Senator Joseph I. Lieberman for his dedicated service not only to his own State and to the United States, but also for his achievements and support for equal citizenship rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia, who have no representation in the United States Senate.