Insular Areas and Freely Associated States Energy Development

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge the majority to live up to its
professed support for the principles of federalism, limited government,
and local control of local affairs by not interfering in the local laws
of the District of Columbia. The bill limits the District's authority
over its local marijuana laws, and prohibits D.C. from spending its
local funds on abortion services for low-income women.

I am here to put on the record that the Republican-led House
Appropriations Committee's stated view that the bill's D.C. marijuana
rider blocks the D.C. marijuana legalization initiative from taking
effect is not the view of the entire House, as well as to preserve the
ability of the District and its lawyers to review, analyze and
interpret the rider's effect for themselves.

Based on a plain reading of the bill and principles of statutory
interpretation, it is arguable that the rider does not block D.C. from
carrying out its marijuana legalization initiative. The House-passed
D.C. marijuana rider, introduced by Representative Andy Harris, and
this bill's D.C. marijuana rider are not identical. Unlike the Harris
rider, this bill's rider does not block D.C. from ``carrying out''
enacted marijuana policies. D.C.'s Initiative 71, it can be argued, was
enacted when it was approved overwhelmingly by voters in November and
is self-executing--i.e., it did not require enactment of any rules for
its implementation. Therefore, it can be argued that the legalization
of small amounts of marijuana in D.C. can proceed.

The District legalized marijuana primarily to combat racial
injustice, after two independent studies, one by the American Civil
Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital and the other by the Washington
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, found shocking
racial disparities in the enforcement of marijuana laws in D.C. In
D.C., Whites and Blacks use marijuana at the same rates, and Blacks
compromise slightly less than 50% of the population, but Blacks are
eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than
non-Blacks, and 91% of all marijuana arrests are of Blacks. These
disparities exist in urban areas throughout the country.

Arrests and convictions for marijuana possession ruin lives,
especially those of Black males. An arrest or conviction for marijuana
possession often condemns Blacks, particularly those from low-income
neighborhoods, to joblessness. Losing the ability to find legitimate
work can lead a person to the underground economy, even to selling
drugs, rather than mere possession. The Black community itself pays the
price because men without the prospect of employment often do not form
stable families.

There may be some misconceptions about the District's legalization
law. The District has the narrowest and strictest marijuana
legalization law in the country. D.C. will not become a regional or
national haven for marijuana use or transactions. Unlike D.C., the four
states that have legalized marijuana permit the sale and purchase of
marijuana. Under D.C.'s marijuana legalization law, possession and home
cultivation are permitted, but all the following are not permitted:
sales or purchase, retail stores, smoking in public, and possession by
those under 21 years of age.

The bill also blocks the District from spending its local funds to
provide abortion services for low-income women. We are talking about
100% local D.C. funds, not federal funds. D.C. raises almost $7 billion
per year in local funds through taxes and fees. As with marijuana, the
District is being singled out for unfair treatment. Seventeen states,
including Arizona, Alaska, and West Virginia, spend their local funds
on abortion services for low-income women. The bill does not block them
from doing so. When the D.C. abortion rider was re-imposed in April
2011, many low-income D.C. women had to immediately cancel their
scheduled appointments for reproductive health services, because,
unlike wealthier D.C. women, they relied on D.C. to pay for their
health care services.

I urge Congress to respect the local laws of the 650,000 American
citizens who live in the District of Columbia.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source