Eleanor Holmes Norton: “Thank you very much, and I certainly thank my good friend from Florida for his work on not only this bill, H.R. 471, but…”

“Thank you very much, and I certainly thank my good friend from Florida for his work on not only this bill, H.R. 471, but for his strong respect for the District of Columbia and its residents and his support for our right to self-government as American citizens. I oppose this rule, I oppose this bill, and at the appropriate time, I will have a substitute to redirect the funds in this bill in accordance with the home-rule wishes of the District of Columbia. May I say, I appreciate the words of my good friend from Utah, but I do resent the use of the word ``liberty'' at a time when this bill will deprive the residents of the District of Columbia of the liberty every other district has in deciding local educational decisions for itself. They have it in Utah, and we will never be satisfied as long as we do not have each and every right you have in Utah. Now, the majority ought to approach this rule with caution. Many in the House ran on the promise to reduce the power of the Federal Government and to reduce the budget. Now, we are 3 months into the new Congress, and if they vote for this rule, they will be breaking their promises. They will be voting for an unprecedented expansion of the Federal Government's power into the quintessentially local decision of elementary and secondary education. They will be voting for this rule against the will of the jurisdiction, the only jurisdiction to which it applies, the District of Columbia.…”