Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill, which would repeal the District of Columbia's Local Budget Autonomy Act and prohibit D.C. from passing such laws in the future. I do not believe there is a Member of Congress who would stand for the Federal Government dictating the local budget of a city in his or her district, and D.C. should be treated no differently. Granting D.C. local budget autonomy is not only the right thing to do, it would also have significant financial benefits for the District, such as lowering borrowing costs. It would also mean an end to the threat of a cutoff of D.C. municipal services in the event of a Federal Government shutdown. I also want to express my disappointment that some Members have threatened jail for D.C. employees who implement the Autonomy Act. The threat is backwards. The only court ruling in effect on this law upheld it and ordered all District employees to implement it. House Republicans have taken a regrettable turn in their approach to D.C. home rule. The last four chairmen of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, including Republicans Tom Davis and Darrell Issa, sought to give the District more home rule and more budget autonomy, not less.…”