The Draft of the Stopping Act that Republicans push to prevent extinguishing at the end of the week would effectively reduce the District of Columbia budget by approximately one billion dollars in the next six months, which is a change that local leaders warn about dramatic reductions on basic services.
The reduction was considered due to a series of legislative illusion that Republicans use to force district, democratic guidance and predominantly Black City with a significant number of federal workers, to absorb the same freezing into their local budget that apply in the Federal Government. President Trump, who demonizes Government employees, said he wanted to “take over” DC
According to the Law, which established the “Rule of House” in Washington more than 50 years ago, Congress maintains power over the city, including the final approval over its laws and the annual budget. Historically, the Congress has included routine language in its consumption accounts that approve of the DC budget, of which about 75 percent are funded by local revenues.
But the Republicans have left out the standard language from the Temporary Save Act that should come to the House vote as early as Tuesday. This launched the fate of Washington at the center of a political debate on the financing of the US government. Democrats could seek to block the measure in Senate, but with a deadline on Friday that will be held to keep funding funding, it could make the guilt of the Government.
The draft would greatly freeze federal consumption at levels approved last year, and if it is passed as it is currently written, he would also force DC to return to lower consumption levels in his budget that Congress approved in 2024.
This would result in a reduction of $ 1.1 billion halfway through the fiscal year. It would require that the district reduced 16 percent of all the remaining funds that were not already spent, stated in the Memorandum from the Office of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser sent to the legislators over the weekend.
At a press conference in front of the Capitol on Monday, DC leaders invited the Congress to re -visit the measure of temporary consumption, saying that freezing effects could be “devastating” for the city, which would probably lead to release in public safety and public schools.
Considering that the budget freezing would enter six months in the city fiscal year, the district would have to withdraw within a few days to find $ 1 billion savings between September and late September.
Since much of that money was bound in contracts, lease and Medicaid, and it takes time to be available, local officials have warned that the most half -increasing target for reducing the salaries of city workers, including police officers and teachers.
“There is no way of reducing this kind of money in a time that we would have in this fiscal year not to influence the police or do not affect teachers and do not affect some basic government services that allow us to maintain our city clean, safe and beautiful,” said Mrs. Bowser, a Democrat who explicitly appealed to the president.
Mrs. Bowser said she was in contact with the White House.
“They stated that it didn’t come from them,” she said about the omission.
Local officials complained that it was unfair to expand the consumption of Republicans that they had agreed to report to the Federal Government in Washington, because most of the city’s budget money came from the residents of DC, not federal sources.
“It’s not really a savings, because these are DC dollars,” said Phil Mendelson, President of the DC Council. “Most people, unfortunately, think in this country that Columbia district is funded by the Federal Government. We are not.”
Most district agents are generated by local revenues. Another 24 percent come through federal support, while less than 1 percent comes from direct federal funds.
DC is obliged to submit a plan to balance its budget over five years, and Mrs. Bowser last April suggested about $ 500 million in reduction city programs, including the removal of the program that gives scholarships to workers care for children and teachers of early education. The DC Council has revealed most of these reductions, including returning $ 70 million to the children’s care program.
Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, Democrats who represents the District Columbia as a delegate, but has no votes in the home, proposed an amendment on Monday at the proposal of the Stopping Act to allow DC to continue his budget as planned.
“DC has not been treated for more than 20 years as a federal agency for financing purposes, precisely because it can force dramatic cuts overnight on basic services, including police, sanitary and schools,” said Mrs. Norton. “The reduction of these services would work against the Republicans stated the goal of improving public security and order in DC”
But it seemed unlikely that Republicans would agree to adopt it.
Republicans in Congress were increasingly striving to weigh DC management. Last year, a house control of the GOP voted to the great margins For two disapproval resolution, he abolishes a couple of laws passed by the DC Council.
They also used amendment to consume account spending for the prohibition of the city’s capabilities to tax and regulate the sale of cannabis and prohibit city funds consumption on abortion services for Medicaid recipients.
