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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) reintroduced the District of Columbia Clemency Home Rule Act, which would give D.C. exclusive authority, as the states and territories have, to grant clemency for D.C. crimes.

While D.C. law appears to give the mayor authority to grant clemency, under current practice, clemency petitions for D.C. crimes, like federal crimes, are submitted to the Department of Justice for the president’s consideration. The District of Columbia Clemency Home Rule Act would give D.C. the discretion to establish its own clemency system. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform passed this bill as part of the District of Columbia Home Rule Expansion Act in the 117^th Congress.

“States and territories have full control over their criminal justice systems, including clemency. D.C. also should have full control over its criminal justice system,” Norton said. “Since the D.C. Council has authority to enact local D.C. laws, D.C. officials are in the best position to grant clemency for D.C. crimes.”

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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) reintroduced her bill to exempt from federal government shutdowns agencies that have jurisdiction only over District of Columbia matters but are exclusively or primarily funded by the federal government and not under the District’s control. Norton emphasized that these agencies are essentially D.C. agencies that have nothing to do with federal issues or congressional shutdown matters. They provide critical criminal and civil justice services to the District and should continue to function during a federal government shutdown to protect the safety and well-being of D.C. residents.

This bill includes agencies that are exclusively funded by the federal government and are not under the District’s control: the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for D.C., the D.C. Courts, the D.C. Public Defender Service, the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, and the D.C. Judicial Nomination Commission. The bill also includes the D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which is a D.C. agency but is primarily funded by the federal government.

“These are criminal and civil justice agencies whose focus is exclusively on District of Columbia matters but are funded by the federal government,” Norton said. ” These agencies provide critical local services to D.C., including law enforcement, and should continue to function as usual during a federal government shutdown. Congress should pass this bill to prevent irreparable damage from being done to the District’s justice system as soon as possible, before the specter of yet another inevitable shutdown looms.”

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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) introduced a resolution supporting the designation of September 23, 2025, as “Mary Church Terrell Day,” recognizing Mary Church Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and women’s rights movements. Terrell moved to the District of Columbia in 1887 to become a teacher at M Street Colored High School, now known as Dunbar High School, which is Norton’s alma mater.

Terrell’s parents encouraged her to pursue education, beginning her journey to become one of the first Black women to graduate from college and later to become the first Black woman appointed to the D.C. Board of Education. As a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Association of Colored Women, Terrell spent her life working to advance the status of African American women as a civil and women’s rights activist.

“Mary Church Terrell is well known for the battles she fought in the District of Columbia to demand a more equal America, particularly for Black women,” Norton said. “Her education empowered her to speak against the flaws of segregation and voter suppression. Our history books are filled with the accomplishment of men, but not enough of women who, like Mary Church Terrell, worked to change the world.”

The text of the resolution follows.

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of September 23, 2025, as “Mary Church Terrell Day”, and calling on Congress to recognize Mary Church Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

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Expressing support for the designation of September 23, 2025, as “Mary Church Terrell Day”, and calling on Congress to recognize Mary Church Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was born on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, to former enslaved persons;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s father, Robert Reed Church, was a successful businessman and one of the South’s first African-American millionaires;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell attended the Antioch College laboratory school and Oberlin College;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was one of the first African-American women to attend college;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s belief in the importance of education led her to the District of Columbia in 1887;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell taught at M Street Colored High School, now known as Paul Laurence Dunbar High School;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was the first African-American woman to be appointed to a school board;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell believed that the end to racial discrimination could be achieved through education, work, and community activism;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s activism was sparked by the lynching of an old friend, Thomas Moss, in 1892;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell used her position to fight racial and gender discrimination;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell participated in antilynching campaigns alongside Ida B. Wells-Barnett;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell led the fight to desegregate eating places in the District of Columbia;

Whereas District of Columbia laws of 1872 and 1873 required all restaurants “to serve any respectable, well-behaved person regardless of color”;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was age 86 at the time she launched the campaign to enforce these civil rights laws;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell and several colleagues entered Thompson Restaurant in the District of Columbia on February 28, 1950;

Whereas the group was refused service on the basis of their race;

Whereas John R. Thompson Co., Inc., was prosecuted for violating these laws;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell continued her fight through boycotts, picketing, and sit-ins at restaurants around the District of Columbia;

Whereas, on June 8, 1953, three years after the information charging the restaurant was filed, the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc., held these laws were enforceable;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell also actively fought for women’s suffrage;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was president of the National Association of Colored Women;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell was one of the founders and charter members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People;

Whereas Mary Church Terrell persuaded the National Association of University Women to admit Black members;

Whereas the Mary Church Terrell House is a National Historic Landmark located at 326 T Street, NW, in the District of Columbia, and is open to the public; and

Whereas September 23 would be an appropriate day to designate as Mary Church Terrell Day: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

1. supports the designation of “Mary Church Terrell Day”; and
2. (2) calls on Congress to recognize Mary Church Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As students return to campus for the fall semester, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced her annual resolution to designate September as “National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.”

“In recent years, sexual assaults on college campuses have been increasing. Designating September, a month when most students return to campus, as ‘National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month’ would provide a timely opportunity for colleges and universities to give specific attention to eliminating campus sexual assault. Nowhere in our society is sexual assault as prevalent as it is on college campuses, and nowhere should such conduct be least expected.”

Norton has introduced this resolution the past several years to highlight the problem of sexual assaults on campuses. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the exposure of Jeffrey Epstein and the #MeToo movement, and especially the increase of sexual assaults in campus settings, Norton said her determination to continue to speak out has only grown, and that we must change behavior at the earliest stages of the lives of young men and women.

The resolution follows.

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of September 2025 as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors; 

Whereas college students are at a higher risk of sexual assault during the first few months of school, with more than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occurring in either August, September, October, or November; 

Whereas many college students are survivors of ‘‘incapacitated assault’’, in which they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or otherwise incapacitated; 

Whereas these survivors often know their attackers; 

Whereas less than 12 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students are reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement; 

Whereas college sexual assault survivors are likely to tell someone they know, most often a friend, about their experience; 

Whereas 20 percent of college sexual assault survivors fear reprisal by the perpetrator; 

Whereas many college sexual assault survivors fear poor treatment by campus or law enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting process; 

Whereas 10 percent of colleges still do not allow confidential reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities; 

Whereas 22 percent of colleges provide no sexual assault response training for members of their faculty and staff; 

Whereas 41 percent of colleges have not conducted a single sexual assault investigation in the last 5 years; 

Whereas most colleges fail to provide access to a specially trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner; 

Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges receive no training on how to respond to reports of sexual violence; 

Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges do not have protocols regarding how the institution and local law enforcement should work together to respond to sexual violence; 

Whereas 33 percent of colleges fail to provide training to dispel ‘‘rape myths’’ to persons adjudicating sexual assault claims; 

Whereas 43 percent of the Nation’s largest colleges have students assisting in adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates privacy and conflict-of-interest concerns; 

Whereas 22 percent of colleges allow athletic department oversight of sexual violence cases involving student athletes; 

Whereas many college sexual assault survivors experience confusion over how to report a sexual assault, are unsure of acceptable standards of sexual conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear punishment for activities preceding some sexual assaults, such as underage drinking; 

Whereas 21 percent of the Nation’s largest private colleges report not independently investigating all claims of sexual assault that they conveyed to the Department of Education;

Whereas only 10 to 25 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual assaults are permanently expelled; 

Whereas less than 7 percent of reported college rape cases result in criminal charges against the perpetrator; 

Whereas survivors of campus sexual assaults are more likely to have their lives disrupted, such as by changing a college major, changing campus housing, and dropping a class, than the average student; 

Whereas 7 States require colleges to adopt affirmative consent policies; and Whereas September 2025, when many students begin or return to college, is an appropriate month to designate as National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it 

1          Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports 

2          the designation of National Campus Sexual Assault 

3          Awareness Month.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

EVANSTON – Today. U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement on Trump’s unconstitutional, politically motivated deployment of the National Guard in Chicago:

“Donald Trump and his henchman in the Republican Party are once again using fear, chaos, and cruelty to distract from their real agenda: taking away health care from 17 million Americans, slashing vital services, and protecting billionaires while families pay more to visit the doctor.

“What Donald Trump is doing is horrific. The raids taking place in our communities and the attempted illegal deployment of the National Guard to Chicago are about political theater, not public safety. ICE agents are kicking down doors and rounding up screaming children in the middle of the night. Trump’s actions are deliberately endangering Chicagoans.

“Donald Trump and this gang of thugs have the audacity to think what they are doing makes America strong. They are mistaken. Immigrants are and always have been what makes our country great. We are a welcoming community, and our diversity is our strength. We will not be intimidated by the wannabe dictator in the White House, and we will not stand by as our community is ravaged. 

“I will continue fighting in Congress to block these unconstitutional and inhumane raids, stop the deployment of federal forces on our streets, and expose the cruel, corrupt Republican plan to rip away health care protections and raise health insurance rates.

“We will not let Trump get away with waging a war on the American people. Not in Chicago. Not anywhere. Not now. Not ever.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration freezing $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago infrastructure projects: 

“This unconstitutional action is more proof that Donald Trump and Republicans are more interested in petty political retribution than lowering health care costs for Americans.

“The President of the United States is supposed to serve ALL Americans, but it is clear that Trump is either unwilling or unable to do so. This is money that has been appropriated by the United States Congress. The Executive Branch has no authority to intervene.

“We will not be bullied by a wannabe tyrant and his Republican lapdogs. I look forward to voting for a budget that extends health care tax credits and protects families from rising health insurance rates. Republicans know where to find us – our door is open.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement on the Federal Government Shutdown:

“As of midnight, the federal government has entered a shutdown. Republicans control the entire federal government — the Presidency, the Senate, and the House. This is an utter failure ofRepublican leadership — it will substantially impact our communities and our economy and will drive up health care costs for millions of people.

“This shutdown was avoidable. It will hurt real people right here in the 9th District. Federal employees will miss their paychecks, families will experience delays in necessary services, and small businesses that rely on federal permits, loans, and contracts will suffer.

“I will vote for a bipartisan, negotiated budget that not only protects the vital programs we depend on, like Medicaid, disaster relief, telehealth access, and food assistance, but also extends health insurance tax credits and protects Americans from price increases. However, I refuse to rubber stamp a Republican proposal that continues to give tax breaks to their wealthy donors while families pay more to visit the doctor.

“If you are directly impacted by the shutdown or have any questions, my team and I are here to help. Do not wait to reach out to us. My Washington, D.C. and Skokie offices remain open and fully functional. You can call my DC office at (202) 225-2111 or my Skokie office at (773) 506-7100 with concerns or questions. I also have an FAQ page up on my website that you can view here. We are ready to do everything we can to help constituents get through this difficult time.

“Now more than ever, we need stable leadership and a return to governing in good faith. I will keep fighting for you and your family, and I hope that together we can rise above partisan gridlock and get the job done the American people deserve and expect.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

Full Text of Bill (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) reintroduced the bipartisan Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act of 2025 to require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create and enforce nonvisual accessibility standards for home-use medical devices, so that devices are fully accessible to blind or low-vision persons. 

“I am proud to reintroduce the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, to ensure that medical devices, like insulin pumps and blood pressure monitors, are truly accessible to people who are blind or have low vision,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “Over seven million Americans are living with uncorrectable vision loss and more than one million Americans are blind. In many cases, a blind person’s ability to manage their health and livelihood depends upon the ability to use these devices. As Americans, we cannot stand idly by while people who are blind or have low vision are excluded from a full, happy, and independent life due to these inaccessible technologies. This bill will help foster more inclusive and accessible care.”

The bill also requires the FDA to consult with the disability community and manufacturers throughout the process.

“Blind Americans must have nonvisual access to medical technology that is crucial to our well-being. With respect to healthcare, it can make the difference between good and poor health outcomes and even between life and death. We commend Representative Schakowsky for the introduction of the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act into the House of Representatives. We urge lawmakers to act swiftly so blind people can have the dignity of being able to manage our own care,” said Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind.

In addition to Rep. Schakowsky, this bill is cosponsored by Reps. Don Bacon (NE-02), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Sean Casten (IL-06), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), John Rutherford (FL-05), Pete Sessions (TX-17), and Adam Smith (WA-09).

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) released the following statement after voting against the Republican Continuing Resolution (CR):

“Today, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a temporary government funding bill that does nothing to make health care more affordable and accessible. They passed on an opportunity to reverse course on their Big Ugly Law that rips health care away from 17 million Americans and raises health insurance rates. Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House, and instead of lowering costs for American families, they have caused prices to skyrocket on everything from health care to groceries so they can give tax breaks to their wealthy donors.

“This fight is not over. Democrats will not cave. We will come together and continue to do what is right for the American people.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02)

Washington, D.C. –  Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) released the following statement after Democrats shut down the U.S. Government:

“A government shutdown is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, it is bad governance, and it hurts our economy and workers. Yet Democrats just voted to block a clean government funding bill because they want to spend $1.5 trillion more of your money. This is a shocking dereliction of duty by the Democrats, who supported thirteen clean temporary funding bills under the previous Administration.

“House Republicans did our job and passed a clean bill that pays our troops, Border Patrol, Air Traffic Controllers, and so many more federal workers, with absolutely zero partisan policies attached.   We voted to continue food inspections, continue processing new applications for Social Security and Medicare, and other critical services, but Democrats are holding the federal government hostage for their radically liberal pet projects.

“The American people do not support shutting down the government for $1.5 trillion of out-of-touch liberal policies like free healthcare for illegal immigrants. Senator Chuck Schumer needs to stop trying to appease his far-left, radical base, support the clean bill, and reopen the government.”