(C) Common Dreams This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Norton Thanks 100+ Organizations for Letter to Senate Leadership Opposing Two DC Disapproval Resolutions [1] [] Date: 2023-02-27 12:03:10-05:00 WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today thanked the 100+ organizations that signed a letter to Senate leadership opposing the two disapproval resolutions that would overturn two local D.C. pieces of legislation. "Thank you to the 100+ organizations that signed the letter, which demonstrates their support for D.C. home rule and self-governance," Norton said. "As the letter states, D.C. residents elect their own local officials to govern local affairs, like every other jurisdiction in the country. Congressional interference in local affairs is paternalistic, undemocratic, and violates the principle of self-governance." Local D.C. legislation must be transmitted to Congress for a designated review period before taking effect. If the disapproval resolution is enacted, it overturns the local D.C. legislation. The text of the letter follows. February 21, 2023 Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Cc: United States Senators Dear Senate Leadership: We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans from across the country, are concerned about H.J. Resolution 24, “Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022” and H.J. Resolution 26, “Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022,” recently transmitted from the House for agreement by the United States Senate. These two measures unjustly undermine critical local decisions made by the people of the District of Columbia and their elected leadership. Policy disagreement between the legislative and executive branches of the local District government should not give license to Congress to continue the paternalistic intrusion through disapproval resolutions. The people of the District, like the people of the States, maintain the ability to both choose their local leadership and hold them accountable through local elections. No State is subject to an additional layer of review and consent to local decisions and the additional burden here serves no legitimate Federal purpose. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 and the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 were passed through the District’s legislative process via regular order. The Council held hearings and heard from witnesses on each bill and they were voted on and approved by the Council. H.J Res 24 and H.J Res 26, on the other hand, did not receive hearings in the House of Representatives and no residents of the District of Columbia were allowed to testify in favor or in opposition to either measure. With no representation in the United States Senate, the people of DC will be excluded from the consideration of these measures once again should they not go through the regular Senate process. We, the undersigned, urge the Senate to reject the referred H.J. Res 24 and H.J. Res 26 and preserve the self-governance of the 700,000 people of Washington, DC. Sincerely, DC Vote Alliance for Justice All Souls Church Unitarian American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union of DC American Ethical Union American Family Voices American Federation of Government Employees Anacostia Coordinating Council Arab American Institute Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Brookland Huddle for the Future Broward for Progress CapitalBop, Inc. Capital Stonewall Democrats Center for Common Ground Center for Disability Rights Center for Economic and Policy Research Center for Popular Democracy Church World Service Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Clean Elections Texas Common Cause Common Defense.us Concerned Citizens Demanding Change Inc. (DC) Council for Court Excellence DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice DC Democratic State Committee DC Developmental Disabilities Council DC Environmental Network DC Fiscal Policy Institute DC for Democracy DC Jobs With Justice DC Justice Lab DC Statehood Coalition DC Statehood Green Party DC Voters for Animals Death with Dignity Declaration for American Democracy Defending Rights & Dissent DemCast USA Democracy Amendments Coalition Inc. Democracy for America Advocacy Fund Democratic Messaging Project Demos Drug Policy Alliance Economic Policy Institute Endangered Species Coalition Faith in Action for Social Justice Family Values @ Work Federation of Community Associations Friends of the Earth US FWD.us GLSEN Greenpeace USA GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic Harriets Wildest Dreams In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda Indivisible Indivisible Chicago Alliance Indivisible Marin Indivisible Northern Nevada Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Justice Policy Institute Lake Research Partners League of Conservation Voters League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia League of Women Voters of the United States Legal Aid DC Long Live GoGo MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) Maryland/DC State Council of Machinists, IAMAW Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO More Than Our Crimes NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) NARAL Pro-Choice America National Center for Transgender Equality National Council of Jewish Women National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) National Fair Housing Alliance National Employment Law Project National Women’s Law Center Neighbors United for DC Statehood Netroots Nation NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice NextGen America Oregonizers Our Revolution Physicians for Reproductive Health Planned Parenthood Federation of America Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC Public Citizen Public Justice Center Rachel Carson Council Reale Justice Network SEIU 32BJ Sierra Club Sojourners SPACEs In Action Stand Up America Statehood4DC Take on Wall Street, a project of Americans for Financial Reform TakeItBack.Org The Action Lab at the Center for Health Policy and Law The Hub Project The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The Workers Circle Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice United Nations Association of the National Capital Area Venice Resistance Voices for Progress Washington AIDS Partnership Washington Ethical Society Washington, D.C. Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society Washington Parks & People Who Speaks For Me? Woman’s National Democratic Club Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia ### [END] --- [1] Url: https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-thanks-100-organizations-letter-senate-leadership-opposing-two-dc Published and (C) by Common Dreams Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/