Norton Secures Victories for D.C. in Coronavirus Reconciliation Bill Passed by Oversight Committee

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that the victories she got for the District of Columbia in the portion of the coronavirus reconciliation bill passed by the Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) last Friday will help make D.C. whole with retroactive coronavirus funding while arming the city for the fight still ahead. COR's portion of the bill provides D.C. with more than $2.2 billion in fiscal relief. It treats D.C. as a state, city and county for new fiscal relief, while restoring the $755 million D.C. lost as a result of being categorized as a territory instead of a state for fiscal relief in the CARES Act. Because D.C. residents pay full federal taxes, D.C. is treated as a state in funding bills, and should have been treated as a state for fiscal relief in the CARES Act. Norton fought particularly for and achieved funding for D.C. at the state, city, and county levels because D.C. provides services at all three levels. The coronavirus reconciliation bill is expected on the House floor next week. The bill is expected to pass in the House and Senate. Reconciliation bills are not subject to filibusters in the Senate and therefore need only a simple majority for passage in the Senate.

"I got what D.C. needs most in COR's portion of the coronavirus reconciliation bill, including making D.C. whole with the $755 million in CARES Act fiscal relief that D.C. lost after being categorized as a territory instead of a state by Republicans," Norton said. "The bill arms the District with the tools to fight the coronavirus in the future. It will save lives by increasing the breadth of D.C.'s coronavirus response efforts, it will save jobs by increasing the number of small businesses that will survive this pandemic, and it will provide relief to D.C. families."

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