Politics. On Point.

President Obama took to the Key Bridge, two years since his last visit , to make the case that the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), the fund designed to help  states repair and rebuild America's infrastructure, could potentially run out of funds if Congress doesn't act soon. "It’s not crazy, it’s not socialism.   It’s not the imperial presidency. No laws are broken.  We’re just building roads and bridges like we’ve been doing for the last, I don’t know, 50, 100 years.  But so far, House Republicans have refused to act on this idea.  I haven’t heard a good reason why they haven’t acted. "It’s not like they’ve been busy with other stuff", the president said.   Also weighing in on this issue is  DC Rep.  Eleanor Holmes Norton. “If Congress does not act by the end of the month  it will force the Department of Transportation to ration reimbursements to the states, and will be directly responsible for the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs, ...

Tracy Martin, the father of young, murder victim, Trayvon Martin testified on Capitol Hill pledging to not give up on getting justice for his son. "I think, to a man, the greatest gift from a woman is son. And to have that son taken away from you when you've molded him into becoming an upstanding citizen of this country, it's heart wrenching and something that you can never get over." Mr. Martin said his son was his hero. Mr. Martin spoke on Capitol Hill as part of a forum titled "The Status of Black Males: Ensuring Our Boys Mature Into Strong Men", created by the Congressional Black Caucus. The forum was lead by Sen. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and included Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), author and professor Micheal Eric Dyson, and former NAACP president Kwiesi Mfume. Said Ms. Norton, “ The issues are spread across the spectrum of the life of Black males in America today – clothed in stereotypes from their years as boys, as youths, and as men.  We...

Covenant House, in conjunction with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), welcomed Santa and Mrs. Claus and more than 200 disadvantaged D.C. children to the 21st annual “D.C. Children’s Christmas Party on the Hill”today in the Cannon House Office Building. The children were provided with food and gifts while being entertained by a puppet show from ACLOWN4U, as well as by Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their elves. “We hope that by providing these children with some holiday fun not only with toys, but also with some necessities, including hats, gloves and scarves, it will encourage them to believe that things can always get better,” Norton said. “These are tough times for the average American.” Congresswoman Norton remarked that she appreciated the generosity of the many organizations, businesses and individuals who made donations and volunteered their time to help make the party a success.

Today, President Obama nominated Ronnie Abrams to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and Rudolph Contreras to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.   Ronnie Abrams currently serves as Special Counsel for Pro Bono at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, a position she has held since 2008. Previously, Abrams served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1998 to 2008, where she served as Acting Chief of the General Crimes Unit from 2004 to 2005, Chief of the General Crimes Unit from 2005 to 2007, and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division from 2007 to 2008. From 1994 to 1998, Abrams was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas P. Griesa of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1993 to 1994. Abrams earned a J.D. in 1993 from Yale Law School and a B.A. in 1990 from Cornell University. Ru...

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a resolution, which has 22 original co-sponsors, designating Saturday, July 30 as National Dance Day to promote physical exercise, dance art forms, and dance education. So You Think You Can Dance producer and celebrity judge Nigel Lythgoe will announce National Dance Day on tonight’s TV show, including how participants may access the dance routines to learn for the Dance Day flash mobs. Lythgoe, the Dizzy Feet Foundation and the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, in conjunction with Norton, will host the National Dance Day celebration  at the Sylvan Theatre on the National Mall to encourage physical activity through dance forms of all kinds. National Dance Day in DC will feature a variety of dance performances by local and regional amateur dance groups, as well as a flash mob that will include participation by those who attend. Norton and Lythgoe intend to make National Dance Day an annual celebra...

President Obama met today with House Speaker John Boehner on budget negotiations. There were no clear cut concessions between the two. The president remarked during the White House press briefing. The president said he was more than willing to work with Republicans, but the Republicans bawked at an earlier agreement set by the two parties. The president explained that Speaker Boehner and Chairman Rogers' called for $73b in cuts. "We have agreed to $73b in cuts", said Obama, (among them Pell Grants for college students).  President Obama announced that the Republicans have expressed they don't like the cuts currently proposed. "Nobody gets 100% of what they want, but the American people should get the sense that somebody is worried about them. I want to get the business of the American people done", the President said. With the threat of various government agencies shutting down, the powers that be did agree last month to extend operation...

While the Republicans offer a different take on the controversial H.R. 1 topic, the White House makes their stance known, reiterating its position in a statement today: The Administration strongly opposes Senate passage of H.R. 1, making appropriations for the Department of  Defense and the other departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes. As stated previously, the Administration is committed to cutting spending and reducing the deficit so that current Government spending does not add to the debt, and has put forward a plan to do just that. However, the Administration does not support deep cuts that will undermine our ability to out-educate, out-build, and out-innovate the rest of the world. The unbalanced bill would undermine the Nation’s economic recovery and its ability to succeed in a complex global environment. If the President is presented with a bill that undermines critical priorities or n...

This week Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Mayor Vincent Gray celebrated Black History Month with the renaming of D.C.’s Historic Post Office at 2 Massachusetts Ave NE in honor of the late Dr. Dorothy I. Height. Norton, whose bill to rename the post office was signed by President Obama at an Oval Office ceremony in December, was also joined by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, civil rights leaders, family members of Dr. Height, and a room full of residents from the city and region. Norton noted that the building is not only a post office but also the home of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and said, “It is especially fitting that the name of an icon for social justice should adorn one of Washington’s most iconic buildings.” Norton called Dr. Height a mentor of millions and noted her leadership on D.C. voting rights and equality for D.C. residents. “District residents, who are now in the midst of protesting undemocratic actions in Congress that tramp...

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today was denied the right to testify at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing on H.R. 3 , the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and specifically Section 310 of the bill, which seeks to prevent D.C. from spending its local taxpayer-raised funds to provide abortions for low-income residents. Norton was denied the opportunity to testify by Chairman Trent Franks (R-AZ), although Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) submitted Norton’s request to give testimony in advance, and although members of Congress are routinely given the courtesy to testify at any hearing of their choosing. “Not only do Republicans seek to trample on D.C.’s rights as a self-governing jurisdiction, they apparently seek to trample on my right as a Member of Congress to participate in the legislative process by giving testimony on a bill that directly affects the District,” Norton said. “We will not give up on our efforts to use every legitimate mea...

The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that the new House Republican majority has launched its first attack on the District of Columbia’s right to home rule, only two weeks after stripping the taxpaying residents of the District of Columbia of their vote on the House floor in the Committee of the Whole. Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) yesterday introduced radical anti-choice legislation (H.R. 3) that would expand existing prohibitions on federal funding for abortion, and would re-impose the prohibition on the District’s use of its local taxpayer-raised funds for abortion for low-income women. During the past four years, Norton succeeded in removing all the bans on the District’s use of its local funds, including for needle exchange, abortion for low-income women and medical marijuana. “The new Republican majority has spent its first three weeks preaching about the need to reduce the federal government’s power,” Norton said. “Yet the third ...

The Congresswoman first secured a vote in the Committee of the Whole during the 103rd Congress, when Democrats were in the majority. Norton submitted a legal memorandum and obtained the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole for D.C residents who pay federal taxes without a vote in either congressional body. Because D.C. had never voted on the House floor, Democrats vetted the issue with outside attorneys, and Republicans later lost a challenge to delegate voting in the federal courts. Delegate voting in committees has long been permitted by House Rules, and the Committee of the Whole is also a committee created by House rules. When Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, however, they eliminated the delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole. In 2007, Democrats regained control of the House again and instituted the delegate vote again. Because it had worked so well without controversy, Norton had hoped to retain the vote this time, even writing House Speaker John Boe...

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved counselors, 13 mortgage lenders, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provided one-on-one services to 765 homeowners at the Saving Homes, Foreclosure Prevention Day sponsored by the Obama Administration and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Norton said, "It was clear that Saturday's Foreclosure Prevention Day served a crying need in this town. With the loan modification rate in D.C. at less than two percent, we have begun to make sure that the Making Homes Affordable program lives up to its promise by helping hundreds of people receive loan adjustments." Paula McMillan, a Ward 5 resident, said she saw Norton's public service announcement (PSA) on TV about the free event after receiving calls from two different people saying they could help modify her home loan, one for a fee of $2,500 and the other for $3,000. After watching Norton's PSA, McMillan called her bank to put a stop payment on her checks ...