[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR INTERIM APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS AND RELATED AGENCIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY 
  FISCAL YEAR FOR WHICH APPROPRIATIONS ARE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 
                        SUCH COURTS AND AGENCIES

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2021

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would 
exempt from federal government shutdowns the federal and independent 
civil and criminal justice system law enforcement agencies that are 
exclusively or primarily federally funded but have exclusive 
jurisdiction over District of Columbia matters. This bill is modeled on 
a provision I have been able to get enacted each year since the 2013 
federal government shutdown to exempt the D.C. government from federal 
government shutdowns.
  This bill would exempt the following agencies from federal government 
shutdowns: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for D.C., 
D.C. Courts, D.C. Public Defender Service, D.C. Commission on Judicial 
Disabilities and Tenure, D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and D.C. 
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. With one exception, these 
agencies are not under the District's control and are funded 
exclusively by the federal government. The D.C. Criminal Justice 
Coordinating Council is an independent agency within the D.C. 
government with federal members that is primarily, but not exclusively, 
funded by the federal government. These agencies provide critical local 
services to the District, including law enforcement, and should 
continue to function during a federal government shutdown.
  Each of these agencies has been adversely affected by federal 
government shutdowns, including canceled services and furloughed 
employees. My bill would allow these agencies to continue to function 
during a federal government shutdown, in much the same way that the 
D.C. government itself is now exempt from shutting down during a 
federal government shutdown. I urge my colleagues to support this 
important bill.

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