Introduction of the District of Columbia National Guard Commanding General Residency Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia National Guard Commanding General Residency Act, which would require the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard to reside in D.C. Last year, I introduced a substantially similar version of this bill, but I am introducing this version for committee jurisdiction reasons. This bill is even more important now because my provision in the House's National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA) that would have given the D.C. mayor control over the D.C. National Guard was removed from the enacted NDAA.
The D.C. National Guard is a federal entity, and the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard is a federal official. The Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard is not required to reside in D.C. Congress has justifiably required that certain Federal officials reside in the jurisdiction they serve to ensure in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges residents and Federal officials face. The President controls the D.C. National Guard, including the appointment of the Commanding General. In the states and territories, the governors control their National Guards, the top official in the National Guard is usually appointed by the governor and the top official can be required to live in the jurisdiction. All of these are compelling reasons why the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard should be required to be a D.C. resident.
This bill follows in the footsteps of several other bills that I have introduced that would require certain federal officials serving D.C. exclusively to reside in D.C. My District of Columbia Federal Officials Residency Equality Act (H.R. 3786) would require the Federal district court judges, Federal circuit court judges, the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Marshals for D.C. to reside in D.C. I have also introduced a bill (H.R. 4393) that would require the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia and the Director of the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency to reside in D.C.
With the most recent permanent D.C. National Guard Commanding General, Major General William J. Walker, now serving as the House Sergeant at Arms, leaving a vacancy in the position of Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, this bill is more timely than ever. Moreover, the attack on 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. Residents of the District would feel more confident in the D.C. National Guard if the Commanding General were required to be a D.C. resident.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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