Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose this amendment. This amendment would prohibit the District of Columbia from using its local funds to require an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

How D.C. spends its local funds, which consists of local taxes and fees, should be a decision for D.C., not Congress. If D.C.'s local elected officials want to spend local funds on requiring individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, they should have the authority to do so. If they do not want to spend local D.C. funds on requiring individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, they should have the authority not to do so.

D.C.'s local elected officials are accountable to D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like the decisions of their local elected officials, they can vote them out of office.

D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown, are capable and worthy of governing themselves. If House Republicans cared about democratic principles or D.C. residents, they would bring my D.C. statehood bill which would give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress and full local self-government to this floor.

Congress has the constitutional authority to admit the State of Washington, D.C. It simply lacks the will.

I say to every Member of Congress, keep your hands off D.C. If you want to legislate on local D.C. matters, become a D.C. resident and get elected Mayor or councilmember.

Mr. Chair, I urge colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I thank my good friend for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose this amendment.

This amendment would prohibit the use of funds in this bill for the purchase or construction of any new building in the District of Columbia. The purchase or construction of new Federal buildings can save taxpayers money and improve government operations.

The ongoing consolidation of the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters at St. Elizabeth's in the District of Columbia is a prime example of how new construction can result in significant savings for taxpayers.

The Department is currently housed in more than 50 separate locations throughout the national capital region, and 79 percent of those leases will expire in the next 5 years. Consolidating the Department at St. Elizabeth's will reduce the Department's leasing portfolio and costs by at least 20 percent in accordance with the Reduce the Footprint policy of the General Services Administration as required by Congress and is estimated to result in $1.17 billion in savings.

If this amendment were adopted, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis would be forced to extend expensive short-term leases at significant taxpayer cost.

The consolidation of the Department at St. Elizabeth's is important for streamlining operations and coordination among key Department agencies and offices.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I rise to claim the time in opposition to this amendment.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose this amendment. This amendment would prohibit the District of Columbia from using its local funds to carry out the section of D.C.'s Immunization of School Students Act of 1979 that required students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

D.C. has already repealed this section. While the repeal of the section expires on January 23, 2024, yesterday the D.C. Council passed legislation that would permanently repeal this section.

Nevertheless, how D.C. spends its local funds, which consist of local taxes and fees, should be a decision for D.C., not Congress.

If D.C.'s locally elected officials want to spend local D.C. funds to carry out COVID-19 vaccine requirements for students, they should have the authority to do so.

If they do not want to spend D.C.'s local funds to carry out COVID-19 vaccine requirements for students, they should have the authority not to do so.

D.C.'s locally elected officials are accountable to D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like the decisions of their locally elected officials, they can vote them out of office.

D.C. residents, the majority of whom are Black and Brown, are capable of governing themselves. If House Republicans cared about democratic principles or D.C. residents, they would bring my D.C. statehood bill, which would give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress and full local self-government, to this floor.

Congress has the constitutional authority to admit the State of Washington, D.C. It simply lacks the will.

I say to every Member of Congress: Keep your hands off D.C. If you want to legislate on local D.C. matters, become a D.C. resident and get elected Mayor or councilmember.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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