[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 35 (Monday, March 2, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD HOME RULE ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 2, 2015

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I introduce a bill that would give the mayor 
of the District of Columbia authority over deploying the D.C. National 
Guard, after consultation with the Commanding General of the D.C. 
National Guard, with the President retaining authority on federal 
matters. In local emergencies, including natural disasters and civil 
disturbances unrelated to national or homeland security, the mayor of 
the District should have the same authority that governors exercise 
over the National Guard in their states. Each governor, as head of 
state, has the authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect his 
or her state, just as local militia did historically.
  The National Guards in the 50 states operate under dual federal and 
local jurisdiction. Yet only the President and the Commanding General 
of the D.C. National Guard currently have the authority to deploy the 
D.C. National Guard for local and national purposes, respectively. 
Today, by far the most likely need for the D.C. National Guard here 
would be for natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, and to 
restore order in the wake of civil disturbances. The mayor, who knows 
the city better than any federal official and who works closely with 
federal security officials, should be able to call on the D.C. National 
Guard for local natural disasters and civil disturbances, after 
consultation with the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard. 
The President should be focused on national matters, including homeland 
security, not local D.C. matters. Homeland security authority, with 
respect to the D.C. National Guard, would remain the sole province of 
the President, along with the power to nationalize the D.C. National 
Guard for federal matters at will. It does no harm to give the mayor 
this authority for civil disturbances and natural disasters. However, 
it could do significant harm to leave the mayor powerless to act 
quickly. If it makes sense that governors would have control over the 
mobilization and deployment of their National Guard, it makes equal 
sense for the mayor of the District, with a population the size of a 
small state, to have the same authority.
  The mayor of the District, as head of state, should have the 
authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard in instances that do not 
rise to the level of homeland defense activities. My bill permits the 
mayor to only deploy the D.C. National Guard after consultation with 
the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard. The bill is another 
important step toward completing the transfer of full self-government 
powers to the District. Congress began with the passage of the Home 
Rule Act of 1973, when it delegated most of its authority over District 
matters to an elected mayor and Council. The bill follows that model.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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