D.C. Congresswoman Denied Right to Testify at Congressional
Hearing, Black Caucus Outraged

Norton Denied To Testify, Black Caucus Outraged

Minority News February 10, 2011

http://www.blackradionetwork.com/norton_denied_to_testify__black_caucus_outraged

WASHINGTON, DC

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton was denied the right to
testify at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the
Constitution hearing on H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for
Abortion Act, and specifically Section 310 of the bill,
which seeks to prevent D.C. from spending its local
taxpayer-raised funds to provide abortions for low-income
residents. Norton was denied the opportunity to testify by
Chairman Trent Franks, although Ranking Member Jerrold
Nadler submitted Norton's request to give testimony in
advance, and although members of Congress are routinely
given the courtesy to testify at any hearing of their
choosing.

"Not only do Republicans seek to trample on D.C.'s rights as
a self-governing jurisdiction, they apparently seek to
trample on my right as a Member of Congress to participate
in the legislative process by giving testimony on a bill
that directly affects the District," Norton said. "We will
not give up on our efforts to use every legitimate means to
stop all anti- home rule attempts to roll back the progress
the District has made over the past four years, including
today's attempt to prevent D.C. from funding abortions for
low-income residents."

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, II
expressed concern and outrage over Congresswoman Eleanor
Holmes Norton's denial to testify.

"I am extremely concerned that Congresswoman Norton was shut
out of a very important hearing that affects the community
in which she represents. Not only is it unfair, it's
disrespectful and I plan on speaking with Chairman Franks
about this matter."

Norton's would-be testimony follows.

---

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

On H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act

House Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on the Constitution

First, I want to strongly object to the Committee Majority's
denial of my request to testify today, particularly in light
of the fact that H.R. 3 singles out the local law and
taxpayer funds of my district. I recognize that no Member
panel was contemplated, but in my two decades in the
Congress, I have never seen a Member turned away from
testifying, and certainly not when her own district was
targeted by a bill under consideration.

I strongly oppose the harsh anti-choice H.R. 3, the No
Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, in its entirety, but I am
specifically compelled to discuss an unprecedented provision
of the bill, Section 310, "Application to District of
Columbia." This provision is entirely unrelated to the
purposes of the bill, which seeks not only to write the Hyde
amendment into federal law and extend it permanently, but to
go much further, threatening the health of millions of
women. However, H.R. 3 goes haywire and crosses the line
between autocracy and democracy to dictate to the self-
governing District of Columbia that it may not spend its own
local taxpayer-raised funds as it chooses.

The new House Republican Majority that rode into town on the
wings of a promise for jobs has yet to introduce a jobs
bill. Instead, they quickly reverted to type, giving top
priority to controversial social issues. Two of their top
bills are aimed uniquely at one local jurisdiction, the
District of Columbia. One of these anti-home-rule bills,
sponsored by the Speaker, targets the District with D.C.-
only private school vouchers, although our residents have
created a large, alternative public charter school system
that almost half of our children attend and that is so
successful, it has long waiting lists. To compound the
injury, the new House Majority has included an outrageous
provision in H.R. 3 that would federalize the District of
Columbia for purposes of denying the city the right to spend
its own local funds on abortions for low-income residents.

During the past four years, I worked to carry out the will
of D.C. residents and our local government by successfully
removing all of the accumulated appropriations riders that
eliminated the District's right to decide how to spend its
local funds on behalf of its residents, including for
abortion for low-income women.

H.R. 3, however, not only seeks to re-impose the ban on the
District's use of its local funds for abortion, but also to
make it permanent. This bill presents a new and expanded way
to deny the residents of the District of Columbia their
democratic rights. Unlike the prior prohibitions on the
District's use of its local funds, Section 310 states that
the "term `Federal Government' includes the government of
the District of Columbia." Declaring that the District is a
part of the federal government for the purpose of abortion
is an unprecedented violation of the District's right to
self-government.

The District of Columbia is not a colony of the Congress. We
refuse to submit the funds we alone raise and decisions
about how to spend our own local funds to Members of the
House. We will not let the Majority get away with supporting
democracy everywhere on earth except its own nation's
capital. The House Majority goes many steps too far when
they introduce a bill with such potential harm to all women
and then try to make it worse for the women of the District
of Columbia by taking down part of the local government's
authority in the process.

The new House Majority says it supports limiting the federal
government's power and devolving that power to the states
and localities. This bill does the opposite by using federal
power to snatch local authority from the District of
Columbia and its people. The time has come to practice what
the House Majority preaches.

___________________________________________

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