District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton warned Wednesday that Congress might not make as much headway on her priorities for the District in the second half of the 112th Congress.
“I do not suffer the illusion that what we finally achieved last year necessarily means more to come,” Norton said in a statement. “A presidential election year can slow things to a crawl.”
At the same time, Norton said a looming election — one in which every House seat will be in the hands of voters — can also spur Congress to act. “It can make Congress want to show that the 112th Congress is not a ‘do-nothing’ Congress after all,” Norton said.
The view of the Republican-controlled House toward the District, Norton said, softened during 2011.
“Tea Party Republicans won control of the House and shortly thereafter forced measures on the city that led D.C. officials and residents to the streets in civil disobedience,” an overview of Norton’s plans said in looking back at 2011. “Yet the year ended with a bill introduced by a Republican chairman that would eliminate District government shutdowns by giving D.C. budget autonomy.”
In November, Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who chairs the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, unveiled legislation to allow the District to approve its own budget without congressional intervention, though it carried a provision that would have banned using D.C. funds for abortions. After pushback from District leaders, including Norton, Issa deserted his proposal and promised to continue to pursue the issue. Also on Wednesday, Norton reportedly veered into local politics when she told Bryan Weaver, a longtime Adams Morgan activist, that she supports a ban on corporate contributions to District political campaigns. Weaver, who on Tuesday started an effort to secure a citywide vote on such a proposal, reported the exchange on Twitter. Norton’s office did not respond to a request to confirm the encounter.
