Norton says Democrats sold out D.C. in spending deal

[Geee]

Washington Times:

Washington’s representative to Congress said Saturday she feels like the city was the victim of a “sellout” by Democrats in Friday night’s spending negotiations after the District of Columbia was the focus for two of the biggest policy fights.

President Obama signed off on restricting the city from using its own taxpayer money to fund abortions, and agreed to restore the city’s school voucher program, which is popular with parents but opposed by many elected officials.

“We knew that the House Republicans were on the attack when they took our vote in the Committee of the Whole on the first day of this Congress. What we did not anticipate was that the administration and Senate Democrats would roll over and use our right to self-govern as a bargaining chip,” said Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat and the city’s non-voting representative in Congress.

In a sternly worded statement Saturday afternoon Mrs. Norton said city residents have “every reason to be angry” with the White House and Senate Democrats. She said she didn’t even know the restrictions were accepted until she saw it in press reports.

The city is overwhelmingly Democratic — the most so of any of the 51 jurisdictions that has a vote in the electoral college.

As a federal district defined by the Constitution, the city’s funding is subject to congressional approval, and Congress has frequently intervened to control policies in the District.