Reps. Norton, Maloney, Brown detail NDAA National Guard amendment

U.S. Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), and Anthony G. Brown (D-MD) recently filed a fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment providing the District of Columbia mayor D.C. National Guard control.

The legislators introduced the filing at the Committee on Rules, which determines which amendments will be allowed to be offered on the House floor to the bill.

“On January 6, 2021, as our democracy was under attack, D.C.’s mayor was unable to call out the D.C. National Guard, costing hours and potentially costing lives,” Norton said. “I have long introduced a bill to give D.C.’s mayor the same authority over the D.C. National Guard that governors of states and territories have over their National Guards. It is critically important for D.C. that this amendment be included in the fiscal year 2023 NDAA, and I thank Rep. Brown and Chairwoman Maloney for supporting this effort.”

The lawmakers indicated although the House of Representatives version of the fiscal year 2022 NDAA gave the D.C. mayor control over the D.C. National Guard, the enacted version of the fiscal year 2022 NDAA did not give the mayor the authority because of Republican opposition.

“We have an opportunity in this year’s annual defense bill to address the security challenges we encountered on January 6, 2021,” said Maloney, chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “I am proud to join Congresswoman Norton on this critical amendment to help protect the safety and security of D.C. residents.”