Introduction of the District of Columbia Police Home Rule Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Police Home Rule Act. This bill is necessary to eliminate the President's authority to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the local District of Columbia police department. The President has no authority to federalize any other local or state police department, and no president has tried to federalize MPD. Under the Home Rule Act, ``whenever the President . . . determines that special conditions of an emergency nature exist which require the use of the [MPD] for Federal purposes, he may direct the Mayor to provide him, and the Mayor shall provide, such services of the [MPD] as the President may deem necessary and appropriate.''
Under the section of the Home Rule Act that would be repealed by this bill, the President may federalize MPD for a period of not more than 30 days, unless a resolution passed by Congress extending such federalization is enacted into law. Congress may also terminate the federalization at any time by enacting a resolution. This bill is necessary, even with these protections, because, under the principle of home rule, the President should not have control over the District's local police department.
While it does not appear that a President has exercised this authority over MPD, this latent power is totally unnecessary, should not exist and is an affront to MPD, which has always voluntarily assisted federal authorities. MPD's first responsibility is to protect District residents and visitors, and it must always remain under the authority of the D.C. mayor to accomplish its mission. Moreover, federalization is outdated in light of current practice. MPD regularly assists the federal government as a matter of comity, not as an arm of the federal government, just as I am sure other local police departments do in the region. There are approximately 30 federal police departments under the President's control in the District. In the case of a federal emergency, the President can unilaterally deploy these federal officers, as well as the D.C. National Guard, to address it, and also request the support of our local police department, as the President would do in any other jurisdiction.
This is an important step to increase home rule for the District, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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