Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill. I include in the Record letters opposing this bill from the District of Columbia Mayor and every member of the D.C. Council. September 10, 2025. Hon. James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC. Hon. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Garcia: As Mayor and Chief Executive Officer of the District of Columbia, I am proud of the work we have accomplished to invest in our people, strengthen our neighborhoods, and drive down crime. Building on this progress, my Administration established the Safe and Beautiful Emergency Operations Center to coordinate public safety and beautification efforts as the presidential emergency declaration ends. This structure ensures that DC will remain proactive--bringing together local and federal partners to sustain momentum on reducing crime and improving quality of life for every resident.
We have worked collaboratively with this Committee on shared priorities, including public safety, the federal Return to Work, implementing a DC budget Fiscal Year 2025 fix (which is still pending in the House) and revitalizing the RFK campus; but I write now to ask you to reject 13 of the DC bills before you today that encroach on DC's Home Rule:
Bills like H.R. 5183, the District of Columbia Home Rule Improvement Act, make the District less efficient, competitive, and responsive to the needs of a highly complex unique local government that serves local, county and state functions. Bogging down legislative and executive action only adds costs and uncertainty, making it more difficult to handle the economic headwinds and growth opportunities ahead.
Bills like H.R. 5214, the District of Columbia Cash Bail Reform Act, make DC less safe. Replacing our very effective pre-trial detention regime, which focuses on charged violent offenses and repeat violent offenders, not just on cash bail. I credit recent changes to our laws related to pre-trial detention for helping to drive down violent crime in the last two years.
And the bills to abolish the Judicial Nominations Commission and to convert the elected DC Attorney General to a Presidentially appointed legal officer for the District are both less democratic and untenable for District operations. The Judicial Nomination Commission, with seven members appointed by the Mayor, DC Council, President, US District Court for DC, and the DC Bar, works. As recently as last month, President Trump nominated three federal judicial nominees who were selected from the Commission's candidate pool--a process that demonstrates the value of maintaining local input. DC residents also voted to elect an Attorney General who represents the public interest. Changes to these charter agencies would significantly undercut the already thin ties to autonomy that limited home rule provides.
Finally, I urge you not to up end our three-part education funding SOAR Act. I have long supported the program to expand opportunity for DC students. However, my support has always been contingent on parity among all three education sectors-- public, private, and charter--and this approach is working. We will not support changes that tip the scales away from this core principle of fairness for DC families. As the fastest improving urban school system, DC has become a model for urban education. We outpace the national average on all tested subject areas. We boast free, full-day Pre-K access serving more than 13,200 young learners--an investment which supports our children and our workforce. DC ranked top of the nation in parental satisfaction regarding school choice. Mayoral control, council oversight, and deep, targeted investments in our students, teachers, and buildings made these remarkable achievements possible.
I look forward to continuing a productive partnership with the Committee--one that respects the will of DC residents and honors the principles of home rule. Together, we can build on our successes while protecting the autonomy that, as history reflects, has made our city stronger. Sincerely, Muriel Bowser, Mayor. ____ Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, March 24, 2026. Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries: We write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 5103, the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful Act. This bill is unnecessary and duplicative and, if enacted, could actually erode public safety in the District. We urge all House members to vote against the bill this week.
We appreciate the interest H.R. 5103's sponsors have in promoting cleanliness in Washington, D.C. That said, the Secretary of the Interior does not need new legislation like H.R. 5103 to improve the appearance of federal land, parks, and monuments in the District. He certainly does not need four years, as the bill proposes, to remove graffiti and repair statues on federal property. He can do that work now, and, in fact, is doing that today in locations like Freedom Plaza and Columbus Circle. If he needs more resources, he should request them.
H.R. 5103's creation of a federal ``Safe and Beautiful'' commission is also a concern. This commission would, among other things, be charged with encouraging immigration enforcement in the District, reviewing District criminal justice policies, and facilitating federal law enforcement deployment in the city. Such a commission would, in some ways, duplicate coordination work already underway on areas of mutual interest to the federal government and the District, including issues like trash collection and joint crime prevention activities. Establishing and funding a new government body focused on issues like immigration that are not a source of public safety concerns in the District would be wasteful.
Finally, we must express serious concerns about the provision in H.R. 5103 intended to encourage and speed the issuance of concealed carry licenses in the District. Our local police already manage a straightforward and safety- focused concealed carry program. Putting more guns on our streets more quickly would be a step backwards at a time when D.C. police and their federal partners are working together daily to get firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals. Sincerely,
Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmembers Anita Bonds; Christina Henderson; Brianne K. Nadeau; Matthew Frumin; Zachary Parker; Wendell Felder; Robert C. White, Jr.; Doni Crawford; Brooke Pinto; Janeese Lewis George; Charles Allen; and Trayon White, Sr.
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, D.C. is a world-class city, yet this bill seeks to codify and encourage President Trump's efforts to control and transform D.C., as well as to demonize D.C. and its 700,000 residents, the majority of whom are Black and Brown. President Trump already has called for the repeal of D.C. home rule, federalized the D.C. police department, deployed troops and masked Federal agents on D.C.'s streets, terrorized immigrants in D.C., demolished the East Wing of the White House, removed the nonprofit managing the public golf courses in D.C., and announced the closure of the Kennedy Center. This bill will only embolden him.
This bill would establish in the executive branch the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Commission. The commission's responsibilities include increasing civil immigration enforcement in D.C., deploying more Federal law enforcement officers in D.C., and increasing the number of people carrying guns in D.C.
The commission's top priority is to increase civil immigration enforcement in D.C. Specifically, the commission is required to ensure the ``maximum enforcement of Federal immigration law within the District of Columbia, including policies to encourage the redirection of available Federal, State, or local law enforcement resources to apprehend and deport illegal aliens,'' and to monitor D.C.'s ``compliance with the enforcement of Federal immigration law.'' The commission is also required to facilitate the ``deployment of a more robust Federal law enforcement presence'' in D.C. and to ``increase the speed and lower the costs of processing concealed carry'' permits in D.C.
However, D.C. does not want masked Federal agents terrorizing communities, separating families, and destroying the community trust needed for effective local policing or more guns on the streets.
This bill would also require the Secretary of the Interior to ``develop a program to beautify'' D.C., even though D.C. is already one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
This Congress, Republicans have filed over 100 bills, amendments, and riders to repeal, amend, or block D.C. from carrying out local laws and policies. The House has already passed 10 of those bills.
D.C. residents have all the obligations of American citizenship, including paying Federal taxes, serving on juries, and registering with the Selective Service, yet Congress denies them full local self- government and voting representation in Congress. The only solution to this undemocratic treatment is to grant D.C. statehood.
Congress has the authority to admit D.C. as a State. The D.C. statehood bill, H.R. 51, would reduce the size of the Federal district from 68 square miles to 2 square miles, consisting of the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and The National Mall. The residential and commercial areas of D.C. would be a new State.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 5103.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter opposing this bill from Brady United Against Gun Violence. March 25, 2026.
Dear Members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Founded in 1974, Brady works across Congress, courts, and communities, uniting gun owners and non-gun owners alike, to take action, not sides, and end America's gun violence epidemic. Our organization today carries the name of Jim and Sarah Brady. As you know, Jim was shot and severely injured in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. As victims of gun violence and life-long gun owners, Jim and Sarah dedicated the rest of their lives to passing federal legislation requiring background checks for gun sales. Brady continues to uphold Jim and Sarah's legacy by uniting Americans from coast to coast, red and blue, young and old, liberal and conservative, to combat the epidemic of gun violence.
This week, the House will consider the Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Act of 2026 (H.R. 5 103), which establishes in the federal executive branch the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Commission, consisting entirely of federal officials. This bill is yet another example of federal overreach into the affairs of the District's residents, imposing unnecessary and unwanted criminal and civil reforms. Most egregiously, the bill would direct the commission to seek to ``increase the speed and lower the cost of processing concealed carry license requests in the District of Columbia.'' Brady stands in strong opposition to H.R. 5103 and urges Members to oppose this dangerous overreach of federal authority over the District of Columbia and its residents.
Every American should have a say in how they can best prevent gun violence and violent crime in their own communities; that is at the very core of the system of federalism our founding fathers fought a revolution to create. Yet, when it comes to efforts to pass public safety laws, citizens of our nation's capital are often at the mercy of federal legislators with little interest in their needs, and attempts by the District's leaders to keep their communities safe are continuously tossed aside by lawmakers with no stake in those communities.
The District's residents are among the only Americans who bear all the responsibilities of citizenship without fully realizing their benefits. The District has a population larger than two states that enjoy full representation in Congress. D.C. residents pay higher taxes than residents in all but 2 states and have the highest per capita federal tax rate in the nation. Yet, D.C. Home Rule is limited--Congress has the power to review and block local legislation, impose their own legislative prerogatives, control the budget, and appoint judges.
The District of Columbia, guided by interest in preserving public safety for its residents and visitors, has implemented a concealed firearm carry licensing process that ensures prospective licensees meet the necessary legal requirements for firearm and concealed carry possession, including the completion of an MPD-approved range training, within the District. Under H.R 5103, the federal government would meddle with the District's laws regarding who can carry concealed handguns in public, undermining its ability to enforce laws in service of public safety.
District residents deserve autonomy over their home and over how they choose to combat violent crime. The federal government should not abuse its oversight of the District of Columbia to interfere with home rule policies and practices. As such, Brady calls on Members to oppose H.R. 5103 and any other bill that restricts the autonomy of the District of Columbia or overrides the District's criminal justice laws. Best regards, Mark A. Collins, Director, Federal Policy.
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