D.C. leaders set aside feud for home rule's sake

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray put aside their political differences Wednesday to support an effort on Capitol Hill to give the District more control over its budget and laws.

The two Democrats, who have been sparring over various issues, united to back legislation by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) to eliminate the requirement that Congress sign off on all city laws and spending.

Under Norton's proposal, Congress would retain the power to overturn or impose laws in the District, such as federal lawmakers' recent effort to remove the city's gun control regulations.

But Congress would no longer have to sign off on each piece of legislation that is approved by the mayor and council before it could become law.

The city would also be freed from having to obtain congressional approval of its annual budget, which would mark a major revision of the 1973 Home Rule Act.

As part of home rule, which established an independent council to set city policy, Congress has 30 legislative days to review any civil law approved by the mayor and council. For a criminal law, there is a 60-day congressional review period.

In more than two hours of testimony, Fenty and Gray told a congressional subcommittee that the city and its leaders are now mature enough to lose some of the congressional scrutiny established under the Home Rule act.

"The District government of today is not the District government of the 1990s," said Fenty, referring to that period when Congress established a control board to oversee the District's troubled finances. "We have come a long way, and we are not going back."

With Democrats in control of Congress and the White House, Norton senses an opportunity to push the legislation through. She and city officials said the proposal would bring greater clarity to the budgeting process and free Congress from the burden of having to review hundreds of local bills each year.

"No other jurisdiction in the United States is faced with such handicaps, especially if there is no reason for such handicaps today," Norton said.

Many of the Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the federal workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia expressed support for the legislation.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said Congress "needs to get out of the way" to allow the "residents of the District to hold their public officials accountable."

Joining Fenty and Gray were Alice M. Rivlin, a former control board chairman, and D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi, both of whom said the city government is capable of managing its own budget.

But several House Republicans said they want to maintain the current system.

"The District of Columbia is not a state, and it should be treated differently," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the ranking member on the subcommittee. "I applaud you for the success you've had, but we have to hold your feet to the fire for the things that are not going well."

At one point, Chaffetz tested the unity of Gray and Fenty, who have been feuding all year over a variety of issues, including tickets to Nationals baseball games and the handling of city contracts.

"If things are going so well, what sort of grade would you give the mayor?" Chaffetz asked.

"This legislation is not about the mayor," Gray replied.