Introduction of A Bill to Require the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia and the Director of the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency to Reside in the District of Columbia

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill to require the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) and the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) to reside in the District of Columbia during their tenure.

CSOSA is an independent federal agency created by Congress in the Revitalization Act that supervises only D.C. offenders on parole, probation and supervised release. PSA is an independent agency within CSOSA that supervises D.C. and federal defendants. This bill would be prospective and not apply to those already in office upon enactment.

Congress has justifiably understood that federal officials must live in the jurisdiction they serve to ensure in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges residents and these federal officials face, but federal officials serving the District have been excluded from such a requirement. This patronizing leftover from when the District was governed by the federal government has real effects on residents. There is no reason that the Directors of CSOSA and PSA, federal agencies that uniquely serve D.C. residents, should not be required to live in the District, engage with local communities and work closely with local officials. Adding residency requirements for federal officials serving the District is a matter of fairness that would make D.C. more like the states and even the territories, who enjoy residency requirements.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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