[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 2 (Monday, January 6, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E3-E4]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LEGISLATIVE HOME RULE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 6, 2025

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia 
Legislative Home Rule Act, which would eliminate the congressional 
review period for legislation passed by the D.C. Council. D.C. 
legislation takes effect after a congressional review period, unless a 
joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review 
period. The review period imposes significant costs on both D.C. and 
Congress, but only four disapproval resolutions on D.C. legislation 
have been enacted since passage of the D.C. Home Rule Act in 1973.
  Congress loses nothing by eliminating the review period. Congress can 
legislate on any D.C. matter at any time, and has done so many times 
outside of the review period, such as through the appropriations 
process.
  The congressional review period (30 days for civil bills and 60 days 
for criminal bills) is based on legislative days, not calendar days, 
often delaying D.C. bills from becoming law for many months. The D.C. 
Council has had to develop a Kafkaesque legislative process to comply 
with the review period. The review period forces the D.C. Council to 
pass most bills several times, using a cumbersome and complicated 
process to ensure that the operations of this large city continue 
uninterrupted.

[[Page E4]]

  Placing a congressional hold on D.C. bills has not only proven 
unnecessary, but has imposed costs on the D.C. government, residents 
and businesses. It is particularly unfair to require the D.C. Council 
to engage in this unnecessary, labor-intensive and costly process. D.C. 
residents and businesses are also placed on hold because they have no 
certainty when D.C. bills, from taxes to regulations, will take effect, 
making it difficult to plan.
  In the 117th Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform 
passed this bill as part of my District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion 
Act of 2022.
  I urge my colleagues to support this good-government measure.

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