[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           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, February 1, 2021

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of 
Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, which would give the mayor of 
the District of Columbia control over the D.C. National Guard. I am 
very pleased that Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Chair of the Committee 
on Oversight and Reform, which has primary jurisdiction over this bill, 
is an original cosponsor, as is Congressman Anthony Brown, a member of 
the Committee on Armed Services, which also has jurisdiction over this 
bill. The mayor of the District should have the same authority over the 
D.C. National Guard that governors of the states and territories have 
over their National Guards. Each governor--including the governors of 
the three U.S. territories with National Guards--has the authority to 
deploy their National Guard to protect his or her state or territory, 
just as local militia did historically. The events at the U.S. Capitol 
on January 6, 2021, and the events at Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, 
are prime examples of why this bill is so important.
  The National Guards in the states and territories operate under dual 
federal and local jurisdiction. Yet the D.C. National Guard operates 
under the sole jurisdiction of the president. 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 out the D.C. National Guard for local 
natural disasters and civil disturbances. The president should be 
focused on national matters, including homeland security, not local 
D.C. matters. If it makes sense that governors have control over their 
National Guards, it makes equal sense for the mayor of the District, 
with a population the size of a small state, to have the same 
authority.
  My bill is another important step toward completing the transfer of 
full self-government powers to the District that 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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