Photo by Mr.TinDC.

Photo by Mr.TinDC.

At the Spirit of Justice Park tonight, Washingtonians are gathering right before House Republicans continue their efforts to overturn a District law that was passed after a year of discussion by a wide majority of the D.C. Council.

Nearly 400 people have said they’re going to Monday’s Hands Off D.C. rally by the Rayburn House Office Building, with 1,500 more indicating interest. Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to speak, as do a number of councilmembers.

Inside Rayburn at 5:30 p.m., the House Oversight Committee will be marking up a disapproval resolution to block D.C.’s Death with Dignity legislation, which makes it legal for physicians to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients with less than six months to live.

Under the Home Rule Act, D.C. has to submit all of its laws to Congress for oversight. If both chambers pass a disapproval resolution and the president signs it within 30 legislative days, the legislation becomes nil. Historically, disapproval resolutions have been rare—only three have passed since 1973, with the most recent in 1990. More frequently, Congress uses amendments to dictate policy to D.C., and seems primed to be more meddlesome than usual this term.

The mark-up of the disapproval resolution is open to the public, and some residents plan to attend, using their proximity to Congress in lieu of representation in its halls. D.C. does not have voting senators and its delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, cannot participate in floor votes.

While Norton has signaled her intention to lobby Republicans in the House to reject the disapproval resolution, the focus has been on the Senate, where politicians think they have a better chance of success. “Basically, the House will always do the bad thing and you have to go to the Senate,” she told DCist.

More than 1,500 people have also said they’ll be attending a 6:30 p.m. Hands Off D.C. meeting at Atlas Performing Arts, according to Andy Le, the spokesperson for Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, whose office organized the event. Le says the meeting is all about “connecting people to organizations that are doing real work,” comparing it to a “Match.com for talent, passions, and organizations.”

Beforehand, councilmembers have been distributing lists of the members of the House Oversight Committee and their contact information, so District residents can give them a piece of their mind. After Washingtonians called Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) en masse, he switched his phone options.

As for Chaffetz, he has been erroneously claiming that his brutal town hall last week was filled with “paid protesters,” though reporters on the scene disagree.

He told The Washington Post that his heavy-handed oversight of D.C. isn’t about scoring political points with conservatives. “I do it because it’s right,” he said.

And how would he know what’s right for a constituency that didn’t elect him? He showed off his District bona fides by doubling down on judging D.C. by its Five Guys. Chinatown is his favorite D.C. neighborhood, he said, because it houses one of the national burger chains.

Hands Off D.C Rally begins at 5 p.m. at the Spirit of Justice Park near South Capitol and C St., SW. The House Oversight Committee mark-up is happening in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The Hands Off D.C. Meeting is happening at 6:30 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St. NE)

Filed Under: hands off d.c., meanwhile on capitol hill, statehood,