Congresswoman, District of Columbia

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a former Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Jimmy Carter, is credited with successfully leading her city in the Congress through the most serious financial crisis in this century. Among her achievements since being elected to Congress have been three historic breakthroughs: 1) the achievement of the right to vote on the House floor (before the rules were changed by the Republicans); 2) the first vote ever and a two day debate on statehood for the District, and 3) a historic revitalization package that she steered through Congress, restructuring the financial relationship between the Congress and the District by transferring $5 billion in unfunded pension liability and billions more in state functions to the federal government, allowing the District to recover from insolvency. Among her other achievements have been a $5,000 homebuyer tax credit that has helped make the District number one in the country in increased home sales; D.C.-only tax credits that give a substantial incentives for hiring or employing D.C. residents and business tax breaks that are drawing and keeping businesses in the District; and major job and economic development initiatives, among them the relocation of 6,000 jobs and revitalization of the Navy Yard and successful fights that have kept the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms from leaving for the suburbs.

At the same time, Congresswoman Norton has used her background in national affairs and in the law to become a leader in the House on important national issues. She serves in the Democratic House leadership group, has served as the Democratic co-chair of the Women's Caucus, and was appointed by the Speaker as a member of the Committee on the Reorganization of the Congress in 1992.  Congresswoman Norton authored 42 bills and amendments in the 105th Congress, placing her in the top 4% among her peers. Seven of her bills became law, placing her in an elite 4% of the most prolific legislators in the House. The Congresswoman also co-sponsored 458 bills, placing her in the top 3% among her peers.  She also is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressional Arts Caucus, Congressional Diabetes Caucus, and the Environmental and Energy Study Conference.

Congresswoman Norton, who taught full time before being elected, continues as a tenured professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching a course every year.  Even before coming to Congress, she had been recognized as a national figure, having been named one of the 100 most important American women in one survey, and one of the most powerful women in Washington in another.  She is nationally known as a civil rights and a women's rights leader, and is the recipient of almost 70 honorary degrees.  After receiving her Bachelors degree from Antioch College in Ohio, Congresswoman Norton simultaneously earned her law degree from Yale Law School and a Masters' degree in American Studies from Yale Graduate School. Yale Law School has awarded her the Citation of Merit as Outstanding Alumnus of Yale Law School, and Yale Graduate School has awarded her the Yale Wilbur Cross Medal as an Outstanding Alumnus of the Graduate School.

Congresswoman Norton brings to Congress an unusually broad background and professional experience. She has served on the boards of three Fortune 500 companies, the board of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar Association, as well as the boards of civil rights, civic, and national organizations.