Eleanor Norton (D-DC)
National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 Technical Corrections Act of 2026
A Democratic bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is titled the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 Technical Corrections Act of 2026. It amends laws regarding the survivor benefits paid by the Federal Government for survivors of District of Columbia police officers, firefighters, and teachers. The bill treats domestic partnerships as marriage for these federally paid survivor benefits, matching how they are treated for benefits paid by the District of Columbia. It also updates the age limit after which a surviving spouse or judge's survivor may remarry without losing survivor benefits to match the age limit for Federal employees. Finally, the legislation allows for annuity deposits for certain qualifying District of Columbia service under the District of Columbia retirement system.
Yes· 3 of 9
- Scored +6
Would people over 65 be better off under this?
Provides financial security and protects older surviving spouses and retirees from losing survivor annuity benefits upon remarriage.
- Scored +6
Would LGBTQ people be better off under this?
Directly benefits LGBTQ individuals by ensuring domestic partnerships are recognized equally with marriage for federal survivor benefits.
- Scored +6
Would retired people be better off under this?
Protects retiree survivor benefits and allows for certain qualifying service annuity deposits.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Domestic Partner Recognition: Section 2(a) treats domestic partnerships as marriage for the program of benefits paid by the Federal Government for survivors of District of Columbia police officers, firefighters, and teachers. This is positive because it ensures surviving domestic partners are eligible for these federal survivor benefits in the same manner as surviving spouses.
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Remarriage Protections: Section 2(b) changes the rules so that an individual's entitlement to a survivor benefit payment under a District Retirement Program does not terminate due to remarriage, provided certain conditions are met. This protects surviving spouses and survivors of judges from losing their benefits upon remarriage if they are at least 55 years of age, or if they were married for at least 30 years to the individual on whose service the benefit is based.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Service Deposit Costs for Retirement: Section 3 adds a service deposit requirement allowing qualifying District of Columbia service to be taken into account for computing certain benefits. Individuals or their survivors must make a deposit equal to a percentage of basic pay received for that qualifying service plus interest, which could be a financial burden for those attempting to secure these calculations.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would LGBTQ people be better off under this? — Directly benefits LGBTQ individuals by ensuring domestic partnerships are recognized equally with marriage for federal survivor benefits. Would retired people be better off under this? — Protects retiree survivor benefits and allows for certain qualifying service annuity deposits. Would people over 65 be better off under this? — Provides financial security and protects older surviving spouses and retirees from losing survivor annuity benefits upon remarriage. Would people in middle age be better off under this? — Provides valuable protections allowing surviving spouses and survivors of judges to remarry without losing benefits if specific age or marriage-duration criteria are met. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — Protects middle-class families of local public servants from unexpected termination of survivor benefits. Would union members be better off under this? — Positively impacts police officers, firefighters, and teachers, who are frequently unionized public employees, and their families. Would people in cities be better off under this? — Directly impacts residents and municipal workers in the District of Columbia. Would women be better off under this? — Beneficially impacts surviving spouses, who are frequently women, by easing remarriage benefit restrictions.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this expand the rights of LGBTQ people? — The bill extends survivor benefits to surviving domestic partners of certain public servants, aligning federal treatment with District of Columbia law.
- 7/13/2026
- Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E671)
- Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.