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WMATA Roundtable this Tuesday, March 11.  See the Upcoming Events section below.

President’s Budget: A Strong Call for D.C. Autonomy and a Funding Boost for Top D.C. Priorities

On March 4, President Obama released his fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, which would grant the District budget and legislative autonomy, and is the strongest and most comprehensive call for D.C. autonomy in a President’s budget ever.  The budget also funds my top D.C. priorities, particularly the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program (DCTAG), at its highest level ever, and increased funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters at the St. Elizabeths West Campus in Ward 8.  The President’s budget also increases funding for D.C. public and charter schools, and, as I requested, for DC Water to help with storm water and sewer flood control.  In addition, it fully funds Metro and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.  The strong DCTAG funding is particularly important considering that the D.C. Council has approved a college access bill that appropriators warned could reduce funding for DCTAG.

In the Delta to Commemorate Freedom Summer and My Time There as a Civil Rights Worker in the 1960s

Over the weekend, I traveled to the Mississippi Delta and Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mississippi Freedom, the effort to register and mobilize African American voters in Mississippi, which I helped organize in the summer of 1963 as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.  We also commemorated the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), for which, with Joe Rauh, I wrote the brief to seat the MFDP and challenge the exclusionary Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.  I also ran the lobbying operation to get recognition for the MFDP at the Convention.  A compromise to leave the Mississippi delegation intact was rejected.  Still, the MFDP challenge transformed the Democratic Party, which beginning in 1965 required goals to include all the constituent groups of the party in all future conventions.  I traveled this weekend with over 20 Members of Congress and others, and was honored to speak as part of a panel on my experiences in Mississippi.

Celebrating Our City’s History with the 100th Anniversary of D.C.’s Oldest Hotel

On March 6, I was honored to speak and cut the cake at the 100th anniversary of Hotel Harrington, the oldest hotel in D.C.  The hotel is not only a salient emblem of our city’s commercial history, it is also a prideful example of our hospitality sector, our primary private sector industry and a major economic driver of this town.

Seeking Answers from NPS on the Rock Creek Park Trail Project

On March 6, I wrote to the National Park Service (NPS) for a progress report on the status of the Rock Creek Park trail project.  It has been two years since the project’s initial Environmental Assessment was issued.  Residents are fully justified in losing patience.  The public deserves an update directly from NPS, and I intend to get this project moving.

Working to Ensure the Secret Service Never Again Brings Downtown Traffic to a Halt

On March 5, after learning of downtown D.C. street closures made unilaterally by the Secret Service, I called for a detailed consultation plan between the Secret Service and the city for future street closures.  Inconveniences such as properly executed street closures are accepted by residents as the price of being the nation’s capital.  However, D.C. is not a fiefdom to be subjected to the dictatorship of the Secret Service or any other federal agency. My staff will meet with the city and Secret Service to ensure a satisfactory plan is developed.

Reiterating D.C.’s Right to Pass a Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

On March 4, following the D.C. Council’s passage of a marijuana decriminalization bill, I said that I do not expect Members of Congress to interfere with D.C.’s local right to pass a marijuana decriminalization bill, just as 17 states have already done.  If Members try to interfere, however, expect me to vigorously defend D.C.’s right to pass such legislation.

Upcoming Events

WMATA Roundtable – Tuesday, March 11, 2014, 6:00 p.m.

At One Judiciary Square (441 4th St. NW), in the Old Council Chambers on the first floor, 

I will hold a roundtable discussion on issues facing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and to hear from several transportation stakeholders – Richard Sarles, General Manager and CEO of WMATA; Klara Baryshev, Chair of the Tri-State Oversight Committee; Jackie L. Jeter, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689; and David Alpert, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington – on long-term issues facing WMATA.  I am holding this roundtable in my new role as Ranking Member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee because we are writing a surface transportation reauthorization bill for transit, roads and bridges.  Residents should submit questions they would like to see addressed at the roundtable to NortonMetroRoundtable@mail.house.gov. Residents should also include their name and address in their email.