Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on overriding the veto.

H.J. Res. 42 is a profoundly undemocratic, paternalistic resolution. Congress, in which the nearly 700,000 District of Columbia residents have no voting representation, is attempting to nullify legislation passed by D.C.'s locally elected legislature.

While it is true that Congress has the constitutional authority to legislate on local D.C. matters, it is false that Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so. It is a choice.

D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and Brown, are capable and worthy of governing themselves.

Democracy, according to the dictionary, is ``a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.''

D.C.'s lack of voting representation in Congress and Congress' plenary authority over D.C. are the antithesis of democracy.

The legislative history and merits of D.C.'s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, which is the subject of H.J. Res. 42, should be irrelevant, since there is never justification for Congress nullifying legislation enacted by D.C., but I would like to briefly discuss them.

D.C.'s Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 is consistent with House Democrats' George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, President Biden's executive order on policing and police accountability, and transparency legislation enacted by dozens of States, both red and blue, to improve public safety and public trust after the murder of George Floyd.

As President Biden said in his veto message, H.J. Res. 42, ``would overturn commonsense police reforms.''

D.C.'s Comprehensive Justice and Reform Amendment Act of 2022 would, among other things, make it easier to fire officers for misconduct, prohibit the hiring of officers with prior misconduct, strengthen civilian oversight of police, and prohibit chokeholds.

Congress requires D.C.'s local legislature, the D.C. Council, to pass legislation twice, separated by at least 13 days.

The Council passed the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022 by votes 11-0 and 13-0. While the legislation was enacted without the D.C.'s Mayor's signature, the Mayor has urged Congress to oppose H.J. Res. 42.

The D.C. Council has 13 members. The members are elected by D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like how the members vote, they can vote them out of office.

Congress has 535 voting Members. The Members are elected by residents of States. None are elected by D.C. residents. If D.C. residents do not like how the Members vote, they cannot vote them out of office.

The Revolutionary War was fought to give consent to the governed and to end taxation without representation. Yet, D.C. residents cannot consent to any action taken by Congress, whether on national or local D.C. matters, though they pay full Federal taxes. Indeed, D.C. pays more Federal taxes per capita than any State and more total Federal taxes than 19 States while being denied voting representation in Congress.

In closing, I would set the record straight on the legal effect of H.J. Res. 42. While Congress can legislate on any D.C. matter at any time, the process for a disapproval resolution is set forth in the D.C. Home Rule Act.

Under the Home Rule Act, a disapproval resolution only has legal effect if Congress passes it before the expiration of the review period for the legislation that is the subject of the disapproval resolution.

In the case of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, the review period expired before the Senate passed H.J. Res. 42. Therefore, H.J. Res. 42 would have no legal effect even if the veto were overridden.

Nevertheless, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on overriding the veto, and I say to every Member of Congress: Keep your hands off D.C.

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