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 that would require the Directors of 2 federal agencies, 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 terms. Residency requirements for certain government positions are found in federal law, D.C. law and the laws of jurisdictions throughout the United States. The primary reason such laws exist is so that government officials have a connection to the residents they serve and in-depth knowledge of the unique issues and challenges faced by residents. Last Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill.
CSOSA and PSA are federal agencies that focus exclusively on D.C. CSOSA supervises individuals on probation, parole or supervised release under D.C. law. PSA makes recommendations regarding pretrial release and supervises defendants for the D.C. Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for D.C. The Directors of CSOSA and PSA should be required to be D.C. residents since these agencies serve only D.C.
Congress has justifiably required that certain federal officials live in the jurisdictions to which they are appointed, including U.S. district court judges, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Attorneys. Similarly, Congress, which controls the local D.C. court system, has justifiably required local D.C. judges and members of the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure to reside in D.C.
There is no reason that the Directors of CSOSA and PSA, federal agencies that uniquely serve D.C., should not be required to live in D.C. These federal officials need to be part of the community they serve. A D.C. residency requirement for these federal officials will lead to better outcomes in the criminal justice system and is a matter of fairness for D.C. residents.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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