Norton Condemns and Vows to Defeat Clyde's Effort to Return D.C. to Full Colony

Statement

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today condemned Representative Andrew Clyde's (R-GA) attacks on the District of Columbia yesterday, including his statements that he is "actively working" on a bill to repeal the D.C. Home Rule Act and that D.C. has been a "reign of terror" since passage of the Home Rule Act in 1973. Clyde, who is a member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, which has jurisdiction over D.C., is contemplating action and using rhetoric not seen with respect to D.C. from Republicans since the early and mid-1990s.

"Representative Clyde literally wants the federal government to resume running D.C. as a colony," Norton said. "He wants to take away the limited self-government the nearly 700,000 D.C. residents, a majority of whom are minorities, have had for the last 50 years and give absolute power over D.C. to Congress and, presumably, to congressionally or presidentially appointed administrators. At a time when we are having unprecedented success on our D.C. statehood bill, we will continue to move forward, not go back. We will defeat his anti-democratic efforts."

President Nixon signed the Home Rule Act into law. The Home Rule Act gives D.C. an elected chief executive (mayor) and legislature (Council). In his signing statement on the Home Rule Act, Nixon wrote, "One of the major goals of this Administration is to place responsibility for local functions under local control and to provide local governments with the authority and resources they need to serve their communities effectively. The measure I sign today represents a significant step in achieving this goal in the city of Washington. It will give the people of the District of Columbia the right to elect their own city officials and to govern themselves in local affairs. As the Nation approaches the 200th anniversary of its founding, it is particularly appropriate to assure those persons who live in our Capital City rights and privileges which have long been enjoyed by most of their countrymen. But the measure I sign today does more than create machinery for the election of local officials. It also broadens and strengthens the structure of the city government to enable it to deal more effectively with its responsibilities."

D.C. is denied voting representation in Congress and full self-government, which is undemocratic. Statehood is the remedy. Congress has the constitutional authority to grant D.C. statehood. D.C. has a larger population than two states, pays more federal taxes than 21 states, pays more federal taxes per capita than any state, has a larger budget than 12 states, has a larger gross domestic product than 17 states, has a triple-A bond rating, and federal funds constitute a smaller percentage of its budget than the percentage of total state revenue.

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