The District of Columbia Local Funds Act is currently stalled in the House of Representatives, following Senate approval. The bill seeks to restore DC’s budget following a proposed 1.1 billion dollar cut to DC spending in March, which Mayor Muriel Bowser protested. The budget cut would be devastating to DC’s autonomy.
In March, the House of Representatives passed a stopgap spending bill, forcing the District to continue spending at its fiscal year 2024 spending levels. However, the District’s 2025 budget is based on its own revenue and has already been approved by Congress. By continuing with last year’s federal funding, DC’s 2025 budget has effectively been reduced by $1.1 billion. Bowser and DC House of Representatives delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton had requested to simply follow past practice and allow DC to operate under its own accepted budget, but have been denied by Republicans.
This cut—backed by President Donald Trump—would treat DC like a federal agency, materializing his belief that DC would be better off under total federal control. DC was granted “home rule” in the 1970s, providing residents the power to elect a mayor, city council, and neighborhood commissioners to run day-to-day operations while Congress approaches laws and controls the city’s budget.
Stopgap spending bills usually allow DC to continue operating under the budget the city has approved, despite the federal government’s own budget being held to amounts from years prior. DC was not allowed to do so in the latest stopgap. Christina Henderson, a member of the DC City Council, noted that “the pace with which [the Federal Government is] moving is different. You could call it reckless. This is very uncharted territory for us.”
The people of DC, the Metropolitan Police Department, and emergency medical services may face funding reductions, which could affect response times, public safety, and increase crime rates. Both DCPS and public charter schools could experience budget constraints, leading to larger class sizes and reduced resources.
Funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority might be cut, impacting operations in public transit services. DC is home to about 7% of the federal workforce, and many could lose their jobs due to these cuts. Historically, federal jobs have helped lift generations of workers, many of them Black residents, into the middle class by giving them opportunities they wouldn’t have had in the private sector because of racial discrimination.
Bowser and local leaders are prompting Congress to act quickly to stop the major budget cuts. In an effort to appease Trump and his allies, Bowser announced Black Lives Matter Plaza’s removal, telling CNN that “we have bigger fish to fry.” •
