[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H8097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        DEFUNDING AN ELECTED BODY IS A BLOW TO DEMOCRACY ITSELF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, a serious step was taken last week when the 
House defunded an elected body that had only a token amount in the D.C. 
appropriation, a 100th of 1 percent amount in a $6.8 billion consensus 
budget that had been approved by the control board and the elected 
officials.
  This may be because the group involved, Advisory Neighborhood 
Commissions, are perhaps not routinely found in other jurisdictions, 
and there is little understanding of the vital role they play in our 
urban environment.
  Many members seem to think that ANCs, as we call our Advisory 
Neighborhood Commissions, are like civic organizations in their own 
home towns. In one important way, they are. The ANC commissioners are 
volunteers and are never paid. But, unlike traditional civic 
organizations, ANCs perform official government duties.
  For example, they must be notified 30 days before any neighborhood 
action is taken. They must hold hearings and receive comments. Then 
they must transmit their comments to the agency involved, and then the 
mayor and the city council must give great weight to the comments of 
the ANCs. These are unusual officials. Aside from their official 
duties, they perform tasks that have become indispensable to 
maintaining the quality of life in the District of Columbia.
  Let me give just a few examples. ANC commissioners cleaned streets 
and alleys when the city was unable to deliver services during the 
fiscal crisis. Commissioners notified the city of declining properties 
when city inspectors were unable to inspect deteriorating housing. An 
ANC used the notification process to require developers to include 
infrastructure improvements, like sidewalks, when building new housing.
  Upon receiving notification for liquor license renewal, an ANC was 
able to force a store owner to stem public intoxication. An ANC uses 
its funds to operate a youth center, placing teens in jobs with 
neighborhood vendors.
  Our ANCs have taken a 50 percent cut since the fiscal crisis began in 
1994. Thus, giving them just a small amount of that back helps our 
neighborhoods in indescribable ways.
  Ironically, these neighborhood institutions were placed in the home 
rule charter by the House of Representatives itself. Now, they are 
being defunded by the House. The Senate has not defunded them.
  The House chose not to leave to chance grass roots participation in 
local government when it approved the charter of the District of 
Columbia, believing that a cadre of front-line elected officials could 
be the veins and arteries leading out into the neighborhoods to other 
parts of the government and to the mayor and the city council.
  The truth is that the 37 commissions, consisting of 299 
commissioners, have the most thankless job in the District. This 
volunteer job has so few rewards that many single-member districts are 
without candidates. It is a real labor of love. It is difficult enough 
without eviscerating ANC by depriving commissioners of the basics, such 
as phones and faxes.
  Defunding an elected body is a blow to democracy itself. The ANC 
contribution to the city is an important example of the link between 
democratic grass roots participation and the quality of life. This 
contribution deserves to be applauded, not defunded.
  In the District, we get much more out of the ANCs than we put in. I 
ask that their funding be returned.

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