Introduction of the District of Columbia National Guard Commanding General Residency Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. 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 Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill.
D.C. has no control over the D.C. National Guard. Instead, the president controls the D.C. National Guard, which many Americans first learned either during the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol, when the Trump administration delayed deploying the D.C. National Guard to the Capitol for several hours, or during the June 2020 attack by federal law enforcement on largely peaceful protestors outside the White House, in which the D.C. National Guard was used by the Trump administration as part of the attack. In contrast, governors of the states and the three territories that have National Guards each control their National Guards.
I have long introduced a bill, the D.C. National Guard Home Rule Act, that would give the D.C. mayor control over the D.C. National Guard. Last Congress, the House's fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act included the D.C. National Guard Home Rule Act, but it was stripped out of the final versions of the FY 2022 and FY 2023 NDAA because Republicans threatened to vote against the must- pass NDAA if it included the D.C. National Guard Home Rule Act.
The Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard is the top official in the D.C. National Guard, is appointed by the president and is a federal employee. There are residency requirements for government officials in federal law, D.C. law and the laws of jurisdictions throughout the country. In fact, several states have laws that require the top official in their National Guard to reside in their state, and it is highly likely that every state and territory only appoints residents as the top official in their National Guard. The primary reason residency requirements exist is so that government officials have a connection to the residents they serve and in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges faced by residents.
Congress has justifiably required that certain federal officials reside in the jurisdiction to which they are appointed, including U.S. district court judges, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Attorneys. Similarly, Congress, which controls the local D.C. court system, has justifiably required local D.C. judges and members of the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure to reside in D.C.
There is no reason that the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, a federal entity that serves only D.C. residents and that has both a military and law enforcement role, should not be required to reside in D.C. A D.C. residency requirement for the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard will lead to a better relationship between the D.C. National Guard and D.C. residents and is a matter of fairness for D.C. residents.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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