A Republican-controlled House committee voted Wednesday to advance legislation that would dramatically expand Congress’ control over the District’s tax laws, prompting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) to call the measure “the most consequential rollback of D.C.’s home rule authority in modern history.”
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act on a 23-18 vote, sending the measure to the House floor. If enacted, the legislation would require Congress to affirmatively approve changes to the District’s tax code before they could take effect, replacing the current system under which tax measures become law unless Congress passes a resolution blocking them during a review period.
“I’m outraged by the Oversight bill passed today, which would be the most consequential rollback of D.C.’s home rule authority in modern history,” Norton stated. “I’ll keep fighting to stop this radical, undemocratic, and unworkable bill from further advancement.”
Republicans said the legislation is intended to protect District taxpayers from additional taxes and fees as city leaders consider new revenue options to address budget pressures. Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) argued that local leaders have relied too heavily on tax increases to fund government spending.
“Radical D.C. Democrats want to solve their spending problem by reaching deeper in D.C. taxpayers’ pockets in driving further on the path to socialism,” Comer said during the markup.
Supporters pointed to the D.C. Council’s upcoming discussions on new revenue proposals and its recent approval of a 20-cent tax on food deliveries as evidence that Congress should exercise greater oversight over the District’s taxing authority.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said he supported the legislation “after watching the District subject its residents and visitors to years of petty fines, predatory fees, and tax hikes.”
Opponents countered that the proposal reaches well beyond tax increases. Norton said the legislation would also prevent the District from reducing or eliminating taxes without congressional approval and would apply to much more than tax rates alone.
“This bill would be the most consequential reduction in D.C.’s authority to govern itself since the D.C. Home Rule Act was passed in 1973 – the entire modern history of D.C. home rule,” Norton said in remarks prepared for the committee.
She argued that the legislation would fundamentally reverse home rule established more than five decades ago.
“This bill flips the current congressional review process for a D.C. law on its head,” Norton said. “D.C. could not impose or increase a tax or cut or eliminate a tax without congressional approval.”
Democratic, Civil Rights Leaders Condemn Legislation
Norton also rejected Republican claims that the legislation is needed because of fiscal mismanagement by the District, noting that D.C. has maintained a balanced budget for nearly three decades.
“Last year, House Republicans omitted a provision in the Continuing Resolution that, in effect, caused a projected $1.1 billion shortfall in D.C.’s budget,” Norton said. “This is factually incorrect; D.C.’s budget has been balanced for the last 29 years. Republicans in Congress intentionally caused last year’s shortfall by forcing the District to revert to the prior year’s spending levels.”
Mayor Muriel Bowser also warned that the legislation would limit the city’s ability to respond to changing economic conditions by preventing tax reductions as well as tax increases.
“This would render the District incapable of recovering from the debilitating impacts of COVID, federal remote work, and DOGE,” Bowser said in a statement. “A safe and beautiful nation’s capital can only be sustained with a vibrant economy. While the federal government should not touch the District’s ability to raise and spend its local dollars, they can and should help us replace the economic activity lost through reductions to the federal workforce and a shrinking federal footprint.”
Democrats on the committee argued that Congress would effectively become the District’s local legislature for tax policy.
“If [President] Donald Trump or Congressional Republicans want to run D.C., they should run for Mayor or the Council,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.)
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) criticized the proposal during the markup, saying, “Seriously!?”
“We can’t even pass our own bills,” Frost continued, “and now you want to add to that and pass the bills of D.C.”
Civil rights advocates also condemned the legislation.
“The families who live in our nation’s capital are like people in any other state, but we face the reality of federal taxation without representation every day,” Monica Hopkins, executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia, said in a statement. “Now, members of Congress – never elected by D.C. voters – want to erode our local representation and expand federal control over our local tax dollars.”
The legislation is the latest in a series of congressional efforts targeting District self-government. According to Norton, Republicans have introduced more than 130 bills, amendments and riders this Congress affecting local D.C. affairs, including legislation to repeal the Home Rule Act entirely.
The bill now advances to the full House. Its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain.
“The 700,000 D.C. residents, the majority of whom are Black and Brown, are capable and worthy of governing themselves,” Norton said. “If D.C. residents do not like how members of the D.C. Council vote, residents can vote them out of office. That is democracy. If D.C. residents do not like how members of Congress vote on local D.C. matters, residents cannot vote them out of office. That is the antithesis of democracy.”
