Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I thank my good friend from Illinois for yielding to me. I would also like to thank Representative Hice, our own…”

“I thank my good friend from Illinois for yielding to me. I would also like to thank Representative Hice, our own Chairman Gowdy, and Ranking Member Cummings for including in this bill, like the similar bill from the last Congress, an update to the Former Presidents Act to reflect the positively changed status of the District of Columbia government since the enactment of the Former Presidents Act of 1958. As it affects the District of Columbia, this bill provides an update to indeed reflect the law regarding the District of Columbia as it is now as opposed to how it was at the time the Former Presidents Act was originally passed in 1958. In 1958, the District of Columbia had no elected local government. It didn't have any member of this body to draw this matter to the attention of the House. Instead, the D.C. government was run by three Presidentially appointed commissioners, and all locally raised D.C. funds were deposited in the U.S. Treasury--locally raised, but put right there in the Treasury--and the Federal Government paid the employer contribution of the pensions of D.C. government employees. You can see why D.C. thought of itself at that time as a colony of the United States of America. We have changed all that. Thanks to the Home Rule Act and the work of this Congress, this bill would treat employment of former Presidents and the widows of former Presidents in the District government in the same manner as employment in other local and State governments.…”