Mayor Fenty Testifies Before Congress on DC Autonomy Acts

Mayor Fenty gave the following testimony on June 7, 2007, before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia. The testimony related to H.R. 733: The District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act of 2007 and H.R. 1054: The District of Columbia Legislative Autonomy Act of 2007. Photographs from the hearing are available in the Mayor's Photo Gallery.

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Marchant and distinguished committee members, it is my pleasure to be here today to speak to you about H.R. 733, the District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act and H.R. 1054, the District of Columbia Legislative Autonomy Act. My name is Adrian Fenty, and I took office this past January as the fifth elected Mayor of the District of Columbia.

I plan to say a few words about why budget and legislative autonomy are crucial to the future of the government I lead. But first, Mr. Chairman, I’d like to thank you for your partnership and the work that you and the other members have done on the District’s behalf.

I should also acknowledge the role of the United States Constitution in framing the relationship between the District and Congress. Everyone in this room is well aware that, under the District Clause, Congress reserves exclusive legislative authority “in all cases whatsoever.” Congresswoman Norton’s proposals for budgetary and legislative autonomy do nothing to diminish this constitutional authority. They simply reinterpret this authority to give the District’s duly-elected government more autonomy in managing its own affairs, so that Members of Congress may remain focused on issues of national importance.

Budgetary Autonomy

In the 34 years since the District of Columbia has had a locally-elected government, that govern