The District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I introduce a bill that would give the mayor
of the District of Columbia authority over deploying the D.C. National
Guard, after consultation with the Commanding General of the D.C.
National Guard, with the President retaining authority on federal
matters. In local emergencies, including natural disasters and civil
disturbances unrelated to national or homeland security, the mayor of
the District should have the same authority that governors exercise
over the National Guard in their states. Each governor, as head of
state, has the authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect his
or her state, just as local militia did historically.
The National Guards in the 50 states operate under dual federal and
local jurisdiction. Yet only the President and the Commanding General
of the D.C. National Guard currently have the authority to deploy the
D.C. National Guard for local and national purposes, respectively.
Today, by far the most likely need for the D.C. National Guard here
would be for natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods, and to
restore order in the wake of civil disturbances. The mayor, who knows
the city better than any federal official and who works closely with
federal security officials, should be able to call on the D.C. National
Guard for local natural disasters and civil disturbances, after
consultation with the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard.
The President should be focused on national matters, including homeland
security, not local D.C. matters. Homeland security authority, with
respect to the D.C. National Guard, would remain the sole province of
the President, along with the power to nationalize the D.C. National
Guard for federal matters at will. It does no harm to give the mayor
this authority for civil disturbances and natural disasters. However,
it could do significant harm to leave the mayor powerless to act
quickly. If it makes sense that governors would have control over the
mobilization and deployment of their National Guard, it makes equal
sense for the mayor of the District, with a population the size of a
small state, to have the same authority.
The mayor of the District, as head of state, should have the
authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard in instances that do not
rise to the level of homeland defense activities. My bill permits the
mayor to only deploy the D.C. National Guard after consultation with
the Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard. The bill is another
important step toward completing the transfer of full self-government
powers to the District. Congress began with the passage of the Home
Rule Act of 1973, when it delegated most of its authority over District
matters to an elected mayor and Council. The bill follows that model.
I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
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