{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-molinaro-bill-remove-derogatory-r-word-dc-code-passes-senate-committee", "Norton, Molinaro Bill to Remove Derogatory \u201cR-Word\u201d from D.C. Code Passes Senate Committee", "2024-04-10", "2024", "2024-04", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Holmes Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", "norton", "https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs marked up and passed her bipartisan bill, the Words Matter for the District of Columbia Courts Act, co-led in the House by Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) and in the Senate by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), to remove the derogatory \u201cR-word\u201d from Title 11 of the D.C. Code and replace it with more appropriate and respectful terminology. Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, only Congress can amend Title 11 of the D.C. Code.\n\n\u201cWords indisputably matter, and I am pleased that today\u2019s Senate committee passage means we\u2019re one step closer to bringing the D.C. Code into the 21st Century,\u201d Norton said. \u201cMy own daughter, Katherine, has Down syndrome. I\u2019m appalled at the thought of someone using the \u2018R-word\u2019 slur toward her, and it is unacceptable that the derogatory term is still a part of the D.C. Code.\u201d\n\n\"I'm proud to see the Words Matter Act pass the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs,\u201d Molinaro said. \"This is a crucial step in removing disparaging terms that diminish individuals with disabilities. Our words matter and our laws should reflect that.\"\n\nThe Words Matter for the District of Columbia Courts Act has been endorsed by the National Down Syndrome Society, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Special Olympics.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:47:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-molinaro-bill-remove-derogatory-r-word-dc-code-passes-senate-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8103097788989544, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}