Norton Statement on the Passing of Former Senator Orrin Hatch, Friend & Friend of D.C.

Statement

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement on the passing of former Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) over the weekend. Hatch coauthored the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, which would have given D.C. permanent House voting representation and a temporary additional House seat for Utah, which narrowly missed getting a new House seat after the 2000 census.

In 2008, Hatch published an essay, entitled ""No Right is More Precious in a Free Country': Allowing Americans in the District of Columbia to Participate in National Self-Government," in the Harvard Journal on Legislation, arguing the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act was constitutional and that Congress should pass it. In his essay, Hatch wrote, "I believe that the present legislation is the proper way to remedy an injustice that has lasted for too long…. Americans in the District should be allowed to participate in selecting a representative, which the Supreme Court has called "the essence of a democratic society' and "the heart of representative government.'" In addition, when Hatch was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, from 1995-2001, he worked closely with Norton to help her get President Clinton's nominees to the U.S. District Court for D.C. through the Senate.

The D.C. House Voting Rights Act was passed by the Senate in 2009, but a National Rifle Association-backed amendment to wipe out D.C.'s gun violence prevention laws was added and caused Norton and D.C. officials to withdraw the bill before a House vote, where passage was expected. Norton noted that six Senate Republicans voted for it. In the prior Congress, in 2007, the House passed the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act, with 22 Republicans voting for it, including Representatives Mike Pence and Paul Ryan, who would go on to be Vice President and Speaker of the House, respectively.

"While Senator Hatch and I certainly had areas of disagreement, I was sorry to hear about his passing," Norton said. "He was a supporter of giving D.C. House voting representation and recognized that taxation without representation is un-American. Sadly, there are few if any congressional Republicans who agree with him today.

"Senator Hatch and I became friends as we worked on the D.C. House voting rights bill and on judges for the U.S. District Court for D.C. He was a remarkable partner who put aside politics to embrace principle, whether on D.C. voting rights or on federal judges for the federal district court here. Senator Hatch was a leader in the effort to show that D.C. voting rights is not a partisan issue, and his efforts were critical to the bipartisan support the bill received. My thoughts are with his family, friends and loved ones as they grieve."

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