April 8, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 60 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR INTERIM APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 
 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS AND RELATED AGENCIES WITH RESPECT TO ANY 
  FISCAL YEAR FOR WHICH APPROPRIATIONS ARE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 
                        SUCH COURTS AND AGENCIES

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 8, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce a bill that would 
exempt from federal government shutdowns the federal and independent 
civil and criminal justice system law enforcement agencies that are 
exclusively or primarily federally funded but have exclusive 
jurisdiction over District of Columbia matters. This bill is modeled on 
a provision I have been able to get enacted each year since the 2013 
shutdown to exempt the D.C. government from shutdowns.
  This bill would exempt the following agencies from federal government 
shutdowns: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, 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. These agencies are not under the 
District's control and are funded exclusively by the federal 
government, with one exception, the D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating 
Council, which is an independent agency within the D.C. government with 
federal members primarily, but not exclusively, funded by the federal 
government. However, these agencies provide critical local services to 
the District, including law enforcement, and should continue to 
function during a shutdown.
  Each of these agencies was adversely affected by the recent 35-day 
shutdown, including canceled services and furloughed employees. My bill 
would allow these agencies to continue to function during a shutdown, 
in much the same way that the D.C. government itself is now exempt from 
shutting down during a federal shutdown. I urge my colleagues to 
support this important bill.

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