Dear Neighbor,
On Friday, a Continuing Resolution (CR) passed Congress to keep the federal government operating. While the CR includes a provision that cuts DC’s locally generated budget by over $1 billion, thankfully, the Senate also passed a separate bill to fix this egregious mistake by ensuring the District can operate under the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) funding levels. I am grateful for our partners in government, my Council colleagues, the Mayor, Senators, Representatives, and the thousands of DC residents who worked collectively to get this done.
We are now urging Members in the House of Representatives to quickly pass the bill that restores our budget to avoid disruptions to critical District services including our police, fire and EMS, and schools. Today, I joined the Mayor and Council colleagues to update the public about our ongoing efforts to protect the District.
Sound and prudent financial planning over decades is allowing the District to continue to deliver our public services and meet our financial obligations. The Mayor and the Council stand united in contingency planning if the House does not pass the bill to fix our spending levels; however, the work is not over and we are all rallying together to get the House to pass this imperative bill.
How we got here:
In order to keep the federal government running and prevent a government shutdown, Congress needed to pass a CR by Friday, March 14th. Last Sunday, March 9th, we learned that a critical provision was left out of the CR, which would allow the District to keep spending its local funding at approved FY 25 levels. This provision is non-controversial and has been included in the previous two CRs that have passed Congress. Without this provision, the District would be treated like a federal agency and revert to FY 24 spending levels; effectively cutting our budget by over $1 billion.
All last week, I, along with the Mayor, my Council colleagues, and District residents worked tirelessly to fix this omission and prevent DC’s locally generated budget from being cut; a cut which would lead to devastating cuts to public safety, education, and human services.
I worked directly with U.S. Senators and Members in the House on both sides of the aisle to ensure this important issue was addressed.
On Friday, the Senate passed the CR, which had passed the House of Representatives earlier in the week, to keep the federal government running. While the CR did not include the fix for DC, thankfully, immediately following the passage of the CR, the Senate passed Senator Susan Collins’ and Senator Chris Van Hollen’s separate bill to fix the egregious mistake and ensure the District can operate under the FY25 funding levels. I want to thank Senators Collins, Murray, Van Hollen, Warner, Kaine, Alsobrooks, and Kim for their leadership in passing this critically important bill. I also want to thank District residents and officials who have been actively engaged in advocating for the District’s funding.
Friday’s Senate vote was a crucial step, but now we must all stay collectively focused to ensure the House passes its own version of the District of Columbia Local Funds Act. We are urging Members in the House to quickly pass this bill to restore DC’s budget. Senator Collins has indicated the President and the GOP Chair of the House Appropriations Committee have endorsed the bill.
We are in this together and I vow to keep fighting for the safety and autonomy of all District residents.
Yours in Service,
Brooke