Local control, or local controllers?

Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) has indicated she will not be bringing her District of Columbia marriage definition amendment to the floor today as the House considers DC's appropriations bill. CQ Today (sub. req.) reports that while the bill was brought up under an open rule - allowing any number of amendments within certain boundaries - Davis' chief of staff has said the Congresswoman isn't yet ready to introduce the measure.

Perhaps the Congresswoman remembered her campaign mantra of local control. According to Davis' campaign website, Davis is "an advocate of a smaller, less intrusive government," as well as a supporter of "returning more power and flexibility to parents and localities." To be fair, she was specifically referring to education policies, but the "local control" mantra is a common theme throughout her biography.

This contradiction between the party platform of local control and strict regulation of the District has never been a problem for Republican lawmakers. Current GOP backed prohibitions run the gambit from one that prevents District leaders from enacting a long-standing needle exchange program to a much more onerous one that forbids the use of federal or local funds to seek Congressional representation for currently unrepresented District denizens.

Fans of local controlling shouldn't worry, though. Republican leadership has said that Davis can "do whatever she wants," and she'll bring forth the measure again in September.