February 7, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 24 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NATIONAL GUARD HOME RULE ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 7, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the District of 
Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act, a bill that would give the mayor 
of the District of Columbia authority to deploy 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 and territories. Each 
governor--including the governors of the three U.S. territories with 
Guards--has the authority to deploy the National Guard to protect his 
or her state or territory, just as local militia did historically.
  The National Guards in the 50 states and territories operate under 
dual federal and local jurisdiction. Yet only the President currently 
has the authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard for both national 
and local purposes. 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 
federalize the D.C. National Guard for federal matters at will. It does 
no harm to give the mayor authority to deploy the Guard 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 deployment of their National 
Guards, 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 chief executive, should have the 
authority to deploy the D.C. National Guard in instances that do not 
rise to the level of federal homeland security activities. My bill 
permits the mayor to deploy the D.C. National Guard only 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 that 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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