[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER SALARY 
                             HOME RULE ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 11, 2023

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I introduce the District of Columbia Chief 
Financial Officer Act, which would give the District of Columbia the 
authority to increase the pay of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The 
D.C. CFO is a local D.C. official and is paid with local D.C funds. 
D.C. should have the authority to set the pay of all its employees. 
Last Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
passed this bill.
  Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress established a maximum rate of 
pay of the CFO, and the D.C. Council has no authority to increase that 
rate. Congress does not cap, or otherwise establish, the pay of any 
other D.C. employee. Under this bill, the CFO would be paid at the 
greater of a rate equal to the current maximum rate of pay or a rate 
established in law by D.C.
  D.C. requested that I introduce this bill to enable it to retain and 
recruit the best CFOs. The D.C. CFO was established by Congress in 
1995. Congress vested the CFO with extraordinary powers and designed 
the CFO to be independent of the D.C. Mayor and Council. D.C. cannot 
obligate or expend funds without the CFO's approval. The CFO manages an 
approximately $20 billion budget that consists of state, county and 
city functions, and the CFO has more than 1,700 employees. The CFO may 
be removed only for cause by the Mayor, subject to the approval of two-
thirds of the Council and a 30-day congressional review and comment 
period. This bill would help maintain the independence of the CFO by 
establishing a permanent floor on the CFO's pay and by prohibiting the 
Council from reducing the CFO's pay during the CFO's term.
  Although the D.C. CFO is the most powerful non-elected official in 
D.C., more than 20 D.C. employees are paid more than the CFO. D.C. must 
compete with both the private and public sectors for high-quality CFOs, 
and there are many private- and public-sector CFOs who are paid more 
than the D.C. CFO.
  This bill is critical to the financial operations of D.C. and is an 
important step to increase home-rule authority for D.C. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.

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