{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/norton-thanks-senator-rand-paul-for-supporting-dc-s-home-rule-right-to", "Norton Thanks Senator Rand Paul for Supporting D.C.s Home-Rule Right to Decide on Marijuana Legalization", "2014-11-04", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said she very much appreciated Senator Rand Paul\u2019s (R-KY) comments to Roll Call today about the District of Columbia\u2019s marijuana legalization initiative, and said she will be sending him a note thanking him for his principled support for D.C. home rule.\u00a0 District voters are expected to approve an initiative today legalizing marijuana.\u00a0 Senator Paul, without taking a position on the legalization of marijuana, said that local jurisdictions should decide such local matters.\u00a0 Paul said,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not for having the federal government get involved.\u00a0 I really haven\u2019t taken a stand on\u2026the actual legalization\u2026but I\u2019m against the federal government telling them they can\u2019t.\u201d\n\u201cI am grateful for the comments that Senator Paul made today about the District\u2019s right to decide for itself the marijuana legalization initiative that the people put on the ballot,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cI am not surprised by the Senator\u2019s support.\u00a0 Ever since he was elected to the Senate, I have regarded him as a potential ally for the notion that the federal government should not interfere with the democratic positions of any local jurisdiction.\u00a0 In fact, the federal government does not interfere with the laws of the states, territories, or localities, except for the District of Columbia.\u00a0 As Senator Paul has traveled the country speaking in detail about his views, I have grown even more encouraged.\u00a0 There can be no doubt that what the Senator has been saying is often consistent with our views that the federal government should not interfere with D.C.\u2019s local affairs.\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-thanks-senator-rand-paul-for-supporting-dc-s-home-rule-right-to"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.210138201713562, "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"}