Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would exempt from federal government shutdowns the federal and independent agencies that are exclusively or primarily federally funded but have jurisdiction over local District of Columbia civil and criminal justice matters. This bill is modeled on a provision I have gotten enacted each year

since the 2013 federal government shutdown to exempt the D.C. government from federal government shutdowns.

This bill would exempt the following agencies from federal government shutdowns: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for D.C., D.C. Courts, D.C. Public Defender Service, D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission and D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. With one exception, these agencies are not under the District's control and are funded exclusively by the federal government. These agencies provide critical local services to the District, including law enforcement, and should continue to function during a federal government shutdown.

Each of these agencies has been adversely affected by federal government shutdowns, including canceled services and furloughed employees. My bill would allow these agencies to continue to function during a federal government shutdown, in much the same way that the D.C. government itself is now exempt from shutting down during a federal government shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue and its new Operations and Intake Center in the District of Columbia, which opens on September 18, 2023.

Founded in 2011, City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue takes in dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters. Over the past 12 years, City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue has saved over 8,700 dogs and cats. Many of these dogs and cats were rescued from high-kill shelters, where resources are so limited that animals are frequently euthanized.

City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue has been widely acknowledged by the community for its work in animal welfare. The Washington City Paper has honored City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue numerous times, awarding it the title of Best Nonprofit in D.C. in 2022 and awarding its annual online auction the best charity event of 2023.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to celebrate the opening of City Dogs & City Kitties Rescue's new building in the District of Columbia and recognize its many years of providing a lifeline to dogs and cats in need of a home.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the United States Commission on an Open Society with Security Act of 2023, which would create a commission to investigate how we can maintain our democratic traditions while actively responding to the real and substantial threats posed by foreign and domestic terrorism.

The impetus for this commission was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, its importance grew after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and has reached peak urgency since the insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The succession of tragic events endured by our Nation has led to a series of sweeping security increases that are deemed both necessary and temporary in the moment but create lasting security infrastructure that is difficult to dismantle and infringes on our open, democratic society.

We must acknowledge and accept that we have entered an era of constant internal and external threats, requiring ever-higher levels of security for our people and public spaces. What we thought would be a temporary infringement on our open society has turned into a permanent restriction on how our citizens interact with each other and our democratic institutions. Because emergencies typically dictate security decisions, essential discussions on the proper balance between security, individual rights and the freedoms enjoyed in an open society have been repeatedly deferred.

This bill would ensure that these long overdue discussions take place in a public forum with experts drawn from across the spectrum. To date, security planning has been delegated almost exclusively to security, intelligence and military experts. Although their input is indispensable, they cannot be expected to consider matters outside of their expertise. To strike a better balance that gives sufficient importance to our democratic traditions, we need to invite experts from diverse fields to the same table to work together. Therefore, the commission would be composed not only of security, intelligence and military experts, but also experts from such fields as business, architecture, technology, law, city planning, art, engineering, philosophy, history, sociology and psychology.

We have used commissions before to deeply investigate and address unprecedented challenges, such as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (also known as the Silberman Robb Commission) and the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (also known as the Kerner Commission). The commission created by this bill would seek to avert a crisis in basic freedoms before their infringement becomes entrenched. We cannot allow security protocols to proliferate without informed civilian oversight and a thorough analysis of alternatives that might better safeguard freedom and commerce.

Furthermore, we have had decades to develop security strategies and technologies that do not deprive our citizens of access to institutions and personal liberty. Thus far, we have either relied on imprecise, medieval approaches like crude barriers or on intrusive new technologies that treat privacy like a privilege instead of a right. We can, and must, do better.

As the home of our federal government, the District of Columbia's residents have suffered disproportionate infringement on public spaces, personal rights and freedoms in the name of security. Public spaces that serve as the heart of our local communities have become restricted zones characterized by a heavy security presence, with individuals liable to be reprimanded for walking on the wrong side of the street or marveling too long at the architecture. Barriers such as walls and fences are touted as essential security features while our citizens are left peering at their democracy from a distance.

Security is not only about reducing lives lost and costs. It is also about safeguarding the institutions, freedoms and values that anchor our country, not only for ourselves but for future generations. The social compact between government and the people should not be the result of a series of hostage negotiations. We must resume reasoned and deliberative decision-making, beginning with a high-level commission composed of experts from diverse disciplines charged with developing a new course that will protect both our people and our precious democratic institutions and traditions.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Protecting Independent Contractors from Discrimination Act, which would extend to independent contractors the same federal antidiscrimination protections provided to employees. This bill would extend the following antidiscrimination statutes, which apply to employees, to independent contractors: Title VII of

the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 7 percent of workers are considered independent contractors. Independent contractors, who often do the same work as employees, have almost none of the workplace protections provided to employees, including health insurance, collective bargaining, retirement security and even antidiscrimination. This bill focuses only on discrimination, from which every worker is entitled to be free.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the District of Columbia Electronic Transmittal of Legislation Act, which would permit the Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia to transmit legislation to Congress in the form of the Chair's choosing, including electronic form. This bill would bring the congressional review process for legislation enacted by D.C. into the electronic age. Last Congress, the Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill.

While I do not believe there should be a congressional review process for D.C. legislation--and I have introduced a bill to eliminate the review process--this bill would not change the review process, except that it would give D.C. flexibility in the form it transmits legislation to Congress. This bill's only purpose is to reduce administrative burdens on D.C. and Congress.

The D.C. Home Rule Act requires the Chair of the D.C. Council to transmit legislation to

Congress for a review period. The legislation takes effect upon the expiration of the review period, unless a resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during the review period. The Home Rule Act is silent on the form of transmittal, but Congress has always required the legislation to be physically transmitted.

Electronic records are recognized as valid under Federal and State law, and Federal, State and local governments conduct official business electronically. For example, under the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, which was enacted into law more than 20 years ago, with respect to any interstate transaction in which the parties consent, ``a signature, contract, or other record relating to such transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.'' In 2002, the E-Government Act, which facilitated the Federal Government providing information and services to the public electronically, was enacted into law.

Federal agencies transmit regulations and other documents to the Federal Register electronically. Congress is also capable of conducting official business electronically. For example, the House permits Members, including acting through their staff, to introduce legislation and submit statements into the Congressional Record electronically.

The requirement that D.C. physically transmit legislation imposes costs on the Council. The Council engages in a 12-step process to physically transmit legislation, including printing two copies of each bill and committee report, arranging a time for delivery of these documents to the offices of the Speaker and President of the Senate and having two staffers drive to the Capitol to deliver the documents--two are necessary because of parking restrictions.

The physical transmittal process also imposes costs on Congress. The following congressional offices and committees are involved in the physical transmittal process: the offices of the Speaker and President of the Senate, the House and Senate parliamentarians, the House Clerk, the Senate Secretary, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

The aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol highlighted the burdens of physical transmittal. After temporary fencing was installed around the Capitol, D.C. employees could not enter the Capitol. This delayed transmittal of D.C. legislation until Council and congressional staff developed a workaround, which consisted of staff meeting outside the fencing to transmit legislation.

I recognize that Congress requires all so-called executive communications, including D.C. legislation, to be physically transmitted, but D.C. is the only entity required to transmit legislation to Congress for a review period.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Bayard Rustin Stamp Act. This bill would direct the United States Postmaster General to issue a forever stamp to commemorate the life and work of Bayard Rustin. I introduce this bill with Congressman Ritchie Torres. We introduce this bill now to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which occurred on August 28, 1963, and the anniversary of Rustin's death, which occurred on August 24, 1987.

Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin became one of the most important leaders in the 20th century civil rights movement. At a young age, Rustin learned the values of nonviolence and peacekeeping from his grandparents' Quaker faith, and he would continue to build these values into his life as a civil rights movement leader.

Rustin attended City College of New York, where he joined a progressive club that aimed to remedy racial issues during turbulent times. His time with the club was short-lived, but it inspired him to join the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an organization that became a champion for labor rights, equity and world peace.

Rustin's time with the Fellowship of Reconciliation led him to become a leader in the 1947 ``Journey to Reconciliation,'' where white and Black people across the South rode buses together to challenge segregation laws, a precursor to the Freedom Rides.

Rustin was an advisor in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s inner circle as King advocated pacifism and nonviolence for achieving equal treatment for African Americans. Rustin applied his brilliant strategic mind to execute aggressive, peaceful action in the civil rights movement and throughout his life as an activist.

His most important role was as the chief organizer of the historic March on Washington, the largest demonstration ever organized at the time, in which a quarter of a million people turned out to demand civil rights for African Americans.

In the years after the civil rights movement, Rustin, a gay man, inspired others to advocate for and to achieve rights for LGBTQ people. He remained a strategist and public speaker for workers' rights movements, including co-founding the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization for Black trade union members. Rustin remained committed to promoting social good, and advocating for the disenfranchised, until his death.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment Home Rule Act. This bill would give the District of Columbia the authority to appoint the members of the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment (Board), except when the Board is performing functions regarding an application by a foreign mission with respect to a chancery. The Board issues special exceptions, or variances, to the regulations issued by the D.C. Zoning Commission (Commission). This bill would not alter the authority of the Board.

Under current law, in general, the Board consists of a representative each from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is a federal agency, and the Commission, each of whom may be a federal official, and three mayoral appointees, subject to D.C. Council approval. The Board has no authority over federal property.

Under current law, when the Board is performing functions regarding an application by a foreign mission with respect to the location, expansion or replacement of a chancery, the Board consists of the Executive Director of NCPC, the Director of the National Park Service (or, if the President so designates, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior or the Administrator of General Services) and the three mayoral appointees. This bill would not change this composition.

D.C., like every other jurisdiction in the United States, should be free to set its own local land-use policies. This bill is an important step to increase home rule for D.C. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate Alice Davis, a tenacious servant/leader, astute fundraiser and compassionate and committed humanitarian who is turning 100 this week.

A fourth generation Washingtonian, Alice Tompkins Davis is a product of the District of Columbia public school system, whose love of mathematics led to a Bachelor of Science degree from Miner Teachers College (now the University of the District of Columbia) in 1943 and graduate studies in mathematics at Catholic University. This career path of critical thinking helped refine her methodical, detail-oriented intellect and provided a background for organized planning and execution abilities--all of which make her an invaluable leader and team player on several local and national organization and association boards and committees. It is these specific talents and skills that served her well for decades and served the Howard University Medical Alumni Association (HUMAA) so well from 1982 to 1996 in her role as Executive Director.

While Alice Tompkins grew up in the segregated town of the District of Columbia, she was never handicapped by race or sex. She was a 20th century leader in women's rights, civil rights, children's rights, mental health and housing, by example. In recognition of her talents, she was chosen for several mayoral appointments including member on the DC Commission for Women, the DC Health Plan, State Health Coordinating Committee (SHCC) and 8 years on the District of Columbia Lottery and Charitable Games Board. Her extensive leadership roles on the national and local levels for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. began in 1945. One of her most significant achievements was the establishment of the Delta Housing Corporation of Washington, D.C. in 1977. This landmark development project, with HUD funding of over $6.5 million, built affordable housing. It was the first of its kind awarded to a Black women's organization. To date, it has continued as an ongoing legacy.

As a member since 1948 and a past president of the Auxiliary to the National Medical Association, her work in health education and volunteer services set a national standard as did her National Youth Forum leadership in conjunction with the March of Dimes. Her service to the D.C. Mental Health Association began in 1967 with policy development and lobbying and being a media spokesperson and program coordinator. Her service contribution awards, spanning over 60 years, are numerous.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to wish Alice Tompkins Davis a happy 100th birthday, in recognition of her distinguished life of service to others.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Federal Employee Pay Compression Relief Act of 2023, which would allow federal employees who reach the pay cap in their pay system to receive the base and locality pay adjustments they would otherwise be entitled to. Currently, federal employees who reach the pay cap do not receive such adjustments.

This bill would allow many of the longest-serving federal employees, District of Columbia residents among them, to receive the pay adjustments they would otherwise be entitled to but for the pay cap. This bill would help the federal government hire and retain the most qualified individuals.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Commission of Fine Arts District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This bill would remove the authority of the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) over non-federal real property in the District of Columbia.

Under presidential executive orders (EOs) and federal law, the CFA has review authority for D.C.-owned parks and buildings, as well as for certain private land in D.C. Under the relevant EOs, CFA has review authority for the design of D.C.-owned parks and buildings. Under the Shipstead-Luce Act, CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in D.C. ``adjacent to public buildings and grounds of major importance,'' such as Rock Creek Park and the Potomac riverfront. Under the Old Georgetown Act, the CFA has review authority for the design of private buildings in the part of Georgetown referred to as ``Old Georgetown'' in the act.

The federal government, including the CFA, whose members are appointed by the President, has no business in D.C. land-use policies and decisions unrelated to the federal presence. Not only is the federal government's authority over D.C. buildings and private property a violation of home rule, it also delays and increases the cost of public and private development in D.C.

This bill is an important step to increase home rule for D.C. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Sisay Senbet on receiving the Tom Miller Advocacy Award for his outstanding work and self-advocacy in Didlake's AbilityOne Program, a federal program that creates employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Sisay immigrated to the District of Columbia from Ethiopia in 2010 and started working for Didlake as a custodian at the Pentagon in 2012. In 2015, he started working the night shift so he could enroll in college. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2019.

Shortly after obtaining his college degree, Sisay was promoted to Site Safety and Health Officer. In his new role, he conducted work inspections and trained new employees in the proper use of safety equipment. Last September, he was promoted to Lead Worker and is now responsible for coordinating and leading the Pentagon custodial crew's day-to-day-operations.

In his spare time, Sisay volunteers at his community library, teaching classes and tutoring other individuals with disabilities. In particular, he helps people with visual impairments use screen reading software to access digital information.

Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to recognize Sisay Senbet, whose life and career are a source of inspiration for both immigrants and individuals with disabilities.

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the National Capital Planning Commission District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This bill would remove the authority of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), a federal agency, to review or approve the development of District of Columbia-owned real property. This bill would also remove the requirement that the D.C. Mayor get NCPC's approval before selling D.C.-owned real property and allow D.C. agencies to transfer jurisdiction over D.C.-owned real property among themselves without NCPC's approval.

Under federal law, NCPC has approval authority for the development of D.C.-owned buildings located in the ``central area,'' including the location, height, bulk, number of stories and size of such buildings. D.C. is required to consult with NCPC on D.C.-owned buildings outside the central area, but NCPC has only advisory authority in those areas. The central area is defined by the concurrent action of NCPC and the D.C. Council and currently consists of the Downtown and Shaw Urban Renewal Areas.

NCPC's authority over D.C.-owned real property is unnecessary, as demonstrated by the virtual absence of its use to disapprove sales or development, and violates D.C. home rule. The federal government should not be able to slow or block the development of D.C.-owned real property or add to the cost of development.

This bill is an important step to increase home rule for D.C. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would allow the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide support to law school clinical programs and provide pro bono legal and support services to veterans, including assistance with disability claims and appeals and foreclosures. The House passed this amendment last year.

There are already at least 22 law schools that have clinics devoted to veterans' legal needs, including William and Mary Law School Veterans Benefits Clinic, which serves as a national model for this idea and was the first recipient of the ``best practice'' award for the

Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act. This bill would give the District of Columbia the authority to appoint all members of the D.C. Zoning Commission (Commission). Currently, the membership of the Commission consists of two federal officials (the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) and the Director of the National Park Service (NPS)) and three members appointed by the D.C. mayor, subject to D.C. Council approval. The federal officials are members even though the Commission has no authority over federal property.

Land use is a quintessential local matter in our country. Despite the D.C. Home Rule Act, which gave D.C. authority over local matters, 40 percent of the members of the Commission are federal officials, who are unaccountable to the nearly 700,000 residents who live in D.C.. The federal government would lose nothing under this bill because the federal government's land-use interests in the nation's capital are protected by federal law and federal agencies.

The Commission creates the zoning maps and regulations, which must ``not be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan for the national capital.'' The mayor is responsible for the local elements of the comprehensive plan, subject to Council approval. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is the central federal planning agency for the federal government in D.C. and approves federal projects here, is responsible for the federal elements of the comprehensive plan. This bill would not alter the comprehensive plan process or the authority of NCPC and the Commission.

This bill would immediately remove the AOC and the NPS Director from the Commission, and the Commission would, at least initially, consist solely of three mayoral appointees. D.C. would have the authority to reconstitute the membership of the Commission through local legislation.

This is an important step to increase D.C. home rule, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment that would increase safety risks, delays, cancelations, diversions, and noise at National Airport, all for the personal convenience of some Members of Congress.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that manages Reagan National and Dulles Airports have both concluded that increasing the slot and perimeter rules would be harmful to the flying public.

The slot and perimeter rules at National Airport exist to ensure operational viability for both National and Dulles International Airports. National and Dulles work as an integrated airport system to meet the needs of the traveling public.

Dulles has the operational capacity, space, and infrastructure to handle larger, long-distance flights and more flights per day than National Airport. National Airport already has the busiest runway in the Nation, was built as a small regional airport, and was never meant to manage flights from across the country.

Mr. Chair, I urge the Members to oppose this amendment.