{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-disagrees-with-house-republican-claim-that-omnibus-blocks-dc", "Norton Disagrees With House Republican Claim that Omnibus Blocks D.C. Marijuana Legalization, Will Offer Amendment at Rules Committee, Today", "2014-12-10", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that, contrary to press reports, it is far from certain that the fiscal year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill blocks the District of Columbia from legalizing marijuana, but she called on Democrats, who control the White House and Senate and whose votes will likely be necessary for House passage, to erase any doubt by eliminating all restrictions and uncertainty on D.C.\u2019s marijuana laws.\n\u201cThe Republican-led House Appropriations Committee says it believes the omnibus blocks D.C. from legalizing marijuana,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, based on a plain reading of the bill and principles of statutory interpretation, the District may be able to carry out its marijuana legalization initiative.\u00a0 The House-passed D.C. marijuana rider, introduced by Representative Andy Harris, and the omnibus D.C. marijuana rider are not identical.\u00a0 Unlike the Harris rider, the omnibus rider does not block D.C. from \u2018carrying out\u2019 enacted marijuana policies.\u00a0 D.C.\u2019s Initiative 71, it can be argued, was enacted when it was approved overwhelmingly by voters in November and was self-executing \u2013 i.e., it did not require enactment of any rules for its implementation.\u00a0 Therefore, it can be argued that the legalization of small amounts of marijuana can proceed.\n\u201cThe District of Columbia government and its residents should never be put in the position of uncertainty of any kind about any of their local laws.\u00a0 To avoid any confusion and to protect the city\u2019s home rule, I will offer an amendment at the Rules Committee today to strike the rider.\u201d", 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-disagrees-with-house-republican-claim-that-omnibus-blocks-dc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.568029634654522, "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"}