{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-condemns-latest-republican-attempt-to-ban-dc-speed-and-traffic", "Norton Condemns Latest Republican Attempt to Ban D.C. Speed and Traffic Cameras", "2014-11-26", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 As they are about to leave Congress, two members of the House could not resist one last chance to bully the District of Columbia, the Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today.\u00a0 Representative Steve Stockman (R-TX) has introduced a bill (H.R. 5755) that would prohibit the District from using automated traffic enforcement systems, such as red light and speed cameras.\u00a0 The bill\u2019s cosponsor is Representative Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI), who last year sought cosponsors for a similar bill.\u00a0 However, Bentivolio ultimately did not introduce his bill after Norton alerted his local media that he was interfering in the local affairs of another jurisdiction.\u00a0 Rep. Stockman, who lost a bid for Senate, will not be running for another term in the House, and Rep. Bentivolio lost his primary election earlier this year.\n\u201cThese two Members, on their way out of Congress, have turned their focus away from their own constituents,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cSo, free from accountability to their own residents, they are making a last ditch attempt to secure a legacy on the backs of District of Columbia residents.\u00a0 We would have thought that Republicans would be the first, not the last, to acknowledge that traffic laws are a classic local public safety matter.\u00a0 These two members, who profess to support federalism and local control of local affairs, have left their principles behind.\u00a0 Whatever one\u2019s views on the merits of traffic cameras, D.C.\u2019s use of them is a quintessential local matter for the local elected government to decide, and not for the big foot of the federal government.\u201d\nUnlike Bentivolio\u2019s draft bill, which was focused solely on the District, Stockman\u2019s bill has two provisions.\u00a0 One provision would withhold 10 percent of certain federal aid highway funds from any state or local government that uses automated traffic enforcement systems.\u00a0 The other provision bans the District in particular from using any traffic cameras.\nAccording to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, hundreds of jurisdictions in 24 states across the country use traffic enforcement systems, including 495 jurisdictions that use red light cameras and 138 that use speed cameras.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-condemns-latest-republican-attempt-to-ban-dc-speed-and-traffic"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.854207668453455, "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"}