D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said Friday that she will work to defeat the disapproval resolution introduced by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and a similar motion filed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that negates a bill in the District allowing nonresidents in the city to vote in local elections.
The D.C. Council passed the nonresident voting bill in October by a 12-1 margin. But Comer’s resolution, if passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president, can stop the city government from implementing the law.
To pass, the resolution needs just a simple majority in both chambers.
The District is the only jurisdiction in the country where Congress must review its legislation.
Norton said the actions of her Republican colleagues are disrespectful to the District.
“Rep. Comer’s disapproval resolution is the third piece of anti-D.C. legislation to be introduced in the first few days of the 118th Congress,” she said. “While I do not expect the resolution to pass in the Senate or the president to sign it, I will work to defeat the resolution, along with the resolution Senator Cotton announced he will introduce, starting now.
“Local D.C. laws are matters for the duly elected D.C. Council and mayor, not members of the Congress representing far-away districts like Rep. Comer’s in Kentucky and Sen. Cotton’s state of Arkansas.”
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) has introduced a bill like Comer’s.