[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE AUTONOMY ACT OF 
                                  2011

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2011

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia 
Legislative Autonomy Act of 2011, to end the unnecessary and redundant 
congressional review of District of Columbia legislation. This bill 
would eliminate the congressional review period for civil (30 
legislative days) and criminal (60 legislative days) legislation passed 
by the District of Columbia. Under the District of Columbia Home Rule 
Act, if a congressional resolution disapproving a D.C. bill is signed 
into law during the congressional review period, that bill does not 
become law. The congressional review period, which is limited only to 
those days when Congress is in session, delays D.C. bills from becoming 
law, often for many months. The delays force the D.C. Council to pass 
most bills several times, using a cumbersome and complicated process in 
which bills are passed on an emergency, temporary, and permanent basis 
to ensure that the operations of this large and rapidly changing city 
continue uninterrupted. The D.C. Legislative Autonomy Act would allow 
bills passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor to become law 
immediately.
  My bill would do no more than align the Home Rule Act with 
congressional practice over many decades. Since the 1973 Home Rule Act, 
of the more than 4,500 legislative acts transmitted to Congress, only 
three resolutions to disapprove a D.C. bill have been enacted--in 1979, 
1981, and 1991--and two of those involved distinct federal interests. 
Placing a congressional hold on 4,500 D.C. bills has not only proven 
unnecessary, but also a waste of money and time for both the District 
and Congress. Instead of using the formal disapproval process to 
overturn D.C. legislation, Congress has preferred to use appropriations 
riders. It is particularly unfair to require the D.C. Council to engage 
in a phantom process that Congress has itself discarded.
  The wastefulness of the layover process is all the more apparent 
considering that my bill does not prevent review of District laws by 
Congress. Under clause 17 of section 8 of article I of the U.S. 
Constitution, the House and the Senate may scrutinize every piece of 
legislation passed by the D.C. Council, and, using that authority, 
change or strike such legislation at any time if it desired. My bill 
would only eliminate the automatic hold placed on local legislation and 
the need for the D.C. Council to use a process initially passed for the 
convenience of Congress, but one that Congress has since eliminated in 
all but law. The bill would promote efficiency and cost savings for 
both Congress and the District. The bill would benefit the city's bond 
rating, which is affected by the shadow of congressional review and the 
delay in the finality of District legislation.
  The limited legislative autonomy granted in this bill would allow the 
District to realize the greater measure of meaningful self-government 
and home rule that it deserves, and has more than earned in the 37 
years since the Home Rule Act became effective. I urge my colleagues to 
support this important measure.

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