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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released a statement tonight after President Trump signed an anti-D.C. home rule executive order (EO) establishing a task force to combat crime by surging law enforcement officers in public areas, increasing immigration enforcement, changing D.C. pre-trial detention policies, expediting concealed carry licenses, and working on fare enforcement on the Metro system. The EO also created a program to allegedly “beautify” D.C. by restoring federal buildings, monuments and roadways, removing graffiti, and ensuring cleanliness of public spaces and parks. Additionally, the EO directed the National Park Service to clear homeless encampments and graffiti on federal lands.

“President Trump’s thoroughly anti-home rule EO is insulting to the 700,000 D.C. residents who live in close proximity to a federal government, which continues to deny them the same rights afforded to other Americans. The task force created by the EO would not include a single D.C. official to represent the interests of the people who reside within the District,” Norton said. “The Revolutionary War was fought to give consent to the governed and to end taxation without representation. President Trump’s rhetoric runs counter to this history. D.C.’s population is larger than that of two states. D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and pays more federal taxes than 21 states. D.C.’s gross domestic product is larger than that of 15 states. D.C. residents have fought and died in all this nation’s wars. We deserve statehood.

“The ‘Fact Sheet’ about the EO currently on the White House’s website states that crime in D.C. is ‘near historic highs.’ This simply isn’t true. It is contradicted by the Department of Justice, which noted on January 3 that violent crime was down 35% in 2024 and overall violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low.

“Like states, cities, and counties across the country, D.C. has passed laws to support and protect the safety of all its residents, regardless of immigration status. In passing these laws, D.C. followed its values and was convinced of the benefits for the entire city. Anyone watching can see plainly that the immigration provisions in the EO were motivated by President Trump’s longstanding antipathy for immigrants, not concern about law and order in the nation’s capital.

“Finally, the recently enacted CR omitted a longstanding provision to allow D.C. to continue spending under its local fiscal year 2025 budget, and instead forces the District to revert to spending at fiscal year 2024 levels for the remainder of the year. The CR will result in projected cuts of approximately $1 billion in its own locally raised funds through the end of September, which will force dramatic reductions in essential services the city provides, including those related to public safety. House Republicans did this intentionally and had time to correct the issue. If Republicans are concerned about public safety in the nation’s capital, they should not have passed a CR that cut D.C.’s funding, including for public safety purposes, halfway through the fiscal year.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

The CBO analysis showed the bill would have no impact on the federal budget because D.C.’s budget consists of locally-raised funds.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

Norton has the longest streak of “exceeding expectations” in the Center’s report over consecutive Congresses in the entire House, after qualifying every term she has served.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability marked up and passed the bill yesterday.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 25^th, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, introduced a bill to prohibit employers from asking for a job applicant’s salary history before making a job or salary offer.

Equal Pay Day marks the number of additional days women must work to earn what men earned the prior year. Workers from historically disadvantaged groups, including women, often start their careers with lower pay than their white male counterparts and can never catch up. While employers may not intend to discriminate, asking for prior pay information can have a discriminatory effect and reinforce the pay gap. This bill passed the House in the 116^th and 117^th Congresses.

“Equal Pay Day is an annual reminder that American women earn less than men for performing the same work,” Norton said. “The disparity often takes root in the interview process, before a job is even offered. The single question of salary history frequently disadvantages women and minorities, whose disproportionately lower salaries carry through their entire careers simply because wages at their first job were set unfairly because of their race or sex.”

Norton’s introductory statement follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the

Introduction of the Salary History Question Prohibition Act of 2025

March 18, 2025

Today, I introduce the Salary History Question Prohibition Act of 2025, which would help reduce the gender and racial pay gap by prohibiting employers from asking job applicants for their salary history before making a job or salary offer.  Even though many employers may not intentionally discriminate against applicants based on gender or race, setting pay based on salary history can reinforce the pay gap.  Members of historically disadvantaged groups often start their careers with unfair and artificially low pay compared to their white male counterparts, and these disparities compound throughout their careers.  The House passed this bill as part of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the 116^th and 117^th Congresses.

There is much work to do to end the pay gap.  This bill represents a crucial step toward that goal. 

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Joyce (PA-13)

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) and Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-3), have introduced the Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act, to combat the influence of foreign-made technology in our nation’s high-speed internet system. 

“As we continue to expand connectivity for Americans in rural communities, we also need to ensure that our national security is protected,” said Rep. John Joyce, M.D.“Fighting to protect our communications systems from malign influences, like the Chinese Communist Party, must be at the forefront of our policy making. I am proud to lead this legislation that takes a common sense step towards securing our internet infrastructure and cutting our reliance on Chinese companies.”

“Our bipartisan legislation is a step toward strengthening America’s information and communications technology (ICT) supply chains to ensure that our economy is not reliant on untrusted vendors,” said Rep. Susie Lee. “Businesses of all sizes, as well as education and healthcare industries, rely heavily on ICT, so it’s critical that America remains competitive in the sector.”

Background:

• The Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act authorizes a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate whether technologies from Chinese companies, like Huawei and ZTE, are part of our telecommunications network.
• This legislation also requires the Department of Commerce to provide an update to Congress on the resources necessary to fully source our broadband infrastructure domestically or from our allies.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Joyce (PA-13)

Washington, D.C. – Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump’s Joint Address to Congress: 

“For four long years, the American people suffered under the Biden Administration’s failed border policies. Who knew all it would take to fix the border was a new president?”  said Rep. John Joyce, M.D. “Tonight, President Trump shared a bold vision for the future of our nation. A vision that secures our border, restores the American dream, and allows us to drill baby drill. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will finally return to being a nation of prosperity and security again, and this is only the beginning.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Joyce (PA-13)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) released the following statement regarding his intention to introduce legislation, pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, to overturn the Biden Administration’s December 2024 decision to allow California to ban the sale of all new internal combustion vehicles:

“The Biden Administration’s 11^th hour decision to approve a de facto nationwide ban on the sale of gas-powered automobiles and hybrids is exactly why the Congressional Review Act exists,” said Congressman John Joyce, M.D.  “I have been fighting this battle to protect consumer freedom since 2022 – and I look forward to working with Chairman Guthrie and Chairman Capito to put an end to this impractical and unworkable mandate once and for all.”

Background:

• In December of 2024, the Biden Administration provided a waiver approving California’s EV mandate. 
• Due to California’s unique status in the Clean Air Act, sixteen other states, including Pennsylvania, have adopted California’s previous standards, affecting nearly 40% of the automobile market.
• In the 117^th Congress, Dr. Joyce led a letter to the Biden Administration with 168 cosigners relaying disapproval of California’s regulation.
• In the 118^th Congress, Dr. Joyce led H.R. 1435, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, legislation to block electric vehicle mandates and protect consumer choice.
• This Congress, Dr. Joyce reintroduced the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act to protect choice for American consumers.
• This month, at an Energy and Commerce Committee Energy Subcommittee hearing, Dr. Joyce challenged the validity of California’s waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency for their sweeping Electric Vehicle mandate and raised concerns about the lack of Congressional review or oversight.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Joyce (PA-13)

Washington, D.C. –Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) and Congressman Don Davis (NC-01) have introduced H.R. 946, the Optimizing Research Progress Hope And New (ORPHAN) Cures Act, legislation that would accelerate the development of new life-saving cures and provide hope to millions Americans affected by rare diseases.

Under current federal law, a drug or treatment that receives approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat exclusively one rare disease – commonly known as an “orphan drug” – is eligible for certain incentives, including an exemption from Medicare’s drug negotiation program.  Unfortunately, those same incentives do not exist if an orphan drug receives FDA approval to treat two or more rare diseases.  This has the unintended effect of discouraging and disincentivizing American innovators from engaging in the expensive and time-intensive research necessary to determine if an orphan drug could cure or treat additional rare diseases.

The ORPHAN Cures Act would remedy these harmful, unintended consequences by honoring the intent of the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and restoring proven, time-tested incentives to encourage the discovery of new cures for the narrow patient populations affected by rare diseases.

“Over 30 million Americans are affected by nearly 10,000 rare diseases– yet 95% of these rare diseases lack an FDA-approved treatment. We need to be doing more – not less – to bring new FDA-approved treatments to market for rare disease patients,” said Congressman John Joyce, M.D. “The ORPHAN Cures Act ensures that proven, critical R&D incentives are in place so the millions of Americans with rare diseases can continue to have hope for the future.”

“We must empower our innovators to continue developing lifesaving rare disease treatments,” said Congressman Don Davis. “By cutting red tape for researchers and scientists, Congress can help lay the foundation for the next generation of cures.”

“Life Sciences Pennsylvania applauds Congressman Joyce on the introduction of the ORPHAN CURES Act in the 119^th Congress,” said Christopher P. Molineaux, President and CEO of Life Sciences Pennsylvania.  “Dr. Joyce understands that the process of taking a rare disease medicine from research through development and approval for patients has many unique challenges.  With small patient populations, the development of medicines for rare diseases is significantly more difficult, costly, and risky than typical drug research and development. The ORPHAN CURES Act creates hope for the millions of patients living with a rare disease.”

“At Tigerlily Foundation, we stand firmly in support of the ORPHAN Cures Act, a vital step toward ensuring access to life-saving treatments for rare disease patients, including those needing care for rare diseases as results of their anti-cancer treatments. This legislation not only accelerates the development of innovative therapies but also addresses the unique challenges faced by patients who have long been overlooked. We believe every individual deserves the right to hope, healing, and health, and the ORPHAN Cures Act brings us closer to that vision. Together, we can create a future where no one is left behind in the fight for better care and cures,” said Maimah Karmo, President & CEO, Tigerlily Foundation

“On behalf of our LGMD2I/R9 community, CureLGMD2i fully supports the Orphan Cures Act (OCA), which will maintain existing incentives and boost research into new treatments for the 30 million Americans currently suffering from rare diseases. LGMD2I/R9 is an ultra rare and progressive muscle wasting disease that currently has no approved treatment. The OCA provides hope to our patient community by protecting the incentives for drug developers to continue working on a potential treatment for rare diseases like the LGMDs,” saidKelly Brazzo, Co-Founder and CEO of CureLGMD2i Foundation

“Rare disease medications are often brought to market as a second indication, because research is just too expensive for our small populations to do the initial expansive testing. Eliminating limiting the exemption to one rare disease, hope and treatment is unnecessarily taken away. This, and the removal of incentives for investing in rare disease research are devastating to the rare disease community. While we believe these were oversights in crafting the law, they must be corrected immediately. People’s lives are at stake. Eosinophilic & Rare Disease Cooperative strongly support the passage of the Orphan Cures Act. We are here to help in any way we can to move this legislation forward,” said Sarah Jones, Community Engagement, Eosinophilic & Rare Disease Cooperative

“With the growing role of genetics and genomics in cancer and other diseases, we are seeing more rare patient communities of under 200,000 who may benefit from a targeted treatment. Passage of the ORPHAN Cures Act is essential to encourage therapeutic innovation for these patients. Without it, the incentives established under the Orphan Drug Act are undermined, and some of our most vulnerable patients will suffer,” said Lisa Schlager, Vice President, Public Policy, FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered

“The Save Rare Treatments Task Force thanks Congressmen Joyce and Davis for their bipartisan leadership in introducing the ORPHAN Cures Act. This vital legislation corrects an unintended consequence in law to ensure strong incentives for research and development of new medical treatments for rare disease,” said the Save Rare Treatments Task Force

For more information, you can find a one-pager here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Joyce (PA-13)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Reps. John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Scott Peters (CA-50), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) reintroduced the Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act. This legislation would permanently give Medicare beneficiaries access to in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services. 

“As a doctor, I understand that many patients recover and rehabilitate best from the safety of their own homes,”  said Rep. John Joyce, M.D. “By permanently expanding access to in-home cardiopulmonary care for Medicare beneficiaries, this legislation will improve outcomes and allow patients to receive the highest quality of care from the comfort of their homes.”

“The Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act will help seniors recover from major cardiac events at home and expand access to telehealth for those who might otherwise struggle to reach a doctor,”  said Rep. Scott Peters. “We know patients recover better when treated in familiar settings, like at home. We must continue working on solutions so Americans aren’t obligated to forego medical care or break the bank for burdensome hospital stays.”

“Medicare patients deserve the ability to access vital cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services from the comfort and safety of their own homes. This not only enhances the likelihood of successful recovery but also contributes to an increase in life expectancy,”  said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. “Our bipartisan Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act delivers a common-sense, forward-looking solution for our seniors. By lowering hospital readmission rates for cardiac patients and expanding access to rehabilitation programs, this legislation takes a vital step toward improving health outcomes. It’s time to modernize Medicare guidelines and provide a long-overdue, sustainable pathway for supervised in-home care to benefit Americans nationwide.”

“As we continue to address the challenges of heart disease in our communities, ensuring access to critical rehabilitation services is essential,”  said Rep. Jimmy Panetta. “This bipartisan legislation builds on the innovative care models developed during the pandemic to ensure that patients can safely recover and rehabilitate from home.  By expanding access to these proven, life-saving programs, we can reduce the burden on our healthcare system and prioritize the health and well-being of seniors.”

Background:

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, resulting in the death of more than 600,000 Americans each year. 
• Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation has been shown to drastically lower the risk of rehospitalization and death.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily allowed certain in-home, virtual cardiopulmonary rehab programs to be reimbursed.
• This temporary policy expired in 2023, causing patients throughout the country to lose access to needed care, particularly in rural areas.

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