Eleanor Holmes Norton: “First I want to thank the ranking member for his very cogent remarks that go to the principle of the matter before the…”

“First I want to thank the ranking member for his very cogent remarks that go to the principle of the matter before the House today. I have to say, I come to the well of the House in outrage against the attack on the District of Columbia by the Republican House. In 1973-- that is 45 years ago--Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which created the locally elected government. Understand that after the Civil War, it is Republicans who first gave the District of Columbia the right to have its own home rule, a tradition that this Republican majority has repudiated. According to the Home Rule Act, a central purpose of the act was, and I am quoting, ``to relieve Congress of the burden of legislating upon essentially local District matters.'' President Nixon, who signed the bill, affirmed that purpose himself when he wrote--and I am going to quote President Nixon: ``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 signed 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.…”