In early April, we got our first look at Mayor Bowser’s budget proposal for 2027 — as expected, there were significant cuts to local programs.
One of the most controversial cuts was to the Pay Equity Fund, which uses taxes on the city’s wealthy to fund wages for child care workers. Bowser has also proposed a $95 million cut to the city’s universal paid leave program, slashing funding in half for one of the city’s means of financing affordable housing construction, reducing the budget for multiple environmental programs, and completely axing the D.C. Food Policy Council, which has promoted food access and sustainability in the District for the last 10 years.
It’s no question that the city is in a difficult economic position after federal government layoffs destabilized the District’s economy, and that significant cuts are likely (unless the D.C. Council considers tax increases to fund local programs). What lawmakers have to decide now is what gets cut and how deep those reductions are — and, believe it or not, that’s where you come in.
Starting last week and going through May 12, the council will be holding public hearings on the 2027 budget, and residents can sign up to make their voice heard. While the mayor proposes a first draft of the budget, councilmembers will take her proposal and make adjustments in response to their priorities and constituent feedback. The council is scheduled to take a first vote on the budget on June 9, and a final vote on June 23.
Is there a city program that you care about that’s on the chopping block? Or a service that you think could use some changes? The 51st put together a guide on testifying.
Find out what committee you need to testify in front of
The council has 10 committees, and each oversees a set of local agencies, departments, offices, and commissions in the District. To figure out the right committee, you’ll have to find out which department or office is in charge of the program you’re focused on. A simple Google search will generally turn up the website of the department it belongs to. For instance, the Pay Equity Fund is under the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
Now, you’ll need to sift through the different committees and see which one oversees the department you’re looking at. It’s not always intuitive at first glance — in the case of OSSE, it’s overseen by the Committee of the Whole. You can find a list of council committees on the council’s website, and click on the committees to find out more information about what agencies fall under their purview.
You’ll also be able to see which council members serve as the chair of their committees. This is important for later, when you’re writing your testimony.
Figure out the right date
Now that you know what committee oversees the relevant program, the next step is figuring out when they’re meeting.
The council has a public hearing calendar, but you’ll notice that the same committees will be meeting multiple times over the next couple of weeks. Because committees oversee several agencies, they have to spread these public hearings over several days to make time for each one.
If you click on a committee hearing in the calendar, you can see whether or not it's a budget oversight meeting, and what agencies they’ll be discussing that day. For instance, the Committee of the Whole is meeting six times between now and May 12, but their budget oversight hearing for OSSE is on May 7. If you want to testify about the Pay Equity Fund, that’s the meeting you’d sign up for. (We’ve rounded up some additional hearings below.)
Residents have the option to testify in-person or virtually, or submit written testimony if they can’t attend the budget oversight hearing (and if you do choose to speak during the hearing, the council also typically requests that you submit written testimony). The council has a quick guide on how to register to testify live and how to submit written testimony. If you do want to speak during the hearing, whether it’s in-person or over Zoom, be sure to register to testify at least a day in advance in order to make the witness list.
Prepare your testimony
For residents who choose to testify in-person or virtually, each person will have three minutes to speak, so you’ll want to make sure your testimony is concise and prepared ahead of time. (If you’re part of an organization, you’ll often get five minutes.)
What goes into good testimony? Typically, you start off by thanking the committee chair, introducing yourself, stating what issue you’re speaking about, and the stance you’re taking. Then it’s time to get into the meat of your testimony: why you’re advocating for or against a particular program. Whether you choose to tell a personal story about how a program has impacted you, share statistics and data that speak to its efficacy, explain how a service has affected other residents in the District, or all of the above, just have your points prepared and stick to your allotted time.
If there’s enough time afterwards, one of the councilmembers may ask you follow-up questions. If you don’t know how to respond, don’t sweat it — simply let them know you’ll get back to them, and you can follow up with their office at a later time.
Most advocacy groups also have testimony guides and templates to help people get started on preparing their testimony. The council also has a brief guide on how to testify and what to expect at a public hearing.
Public witness budget hearings
There are tons of issues up for debate in the mayor’s budget, but we’ve listed out the dates and times for a handful of the big ticket items, sourced from readers and our previous coverage. You can sign up to testify, or just watch the hearings play out.
Rapid Rehousing Program, which helps people experiencing homelessness access housing through subsidies, would pause any new enrollees. Hearing date: April 30
Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which provides low-income residents funding for overdue rent, is facing a $1 million dollar cut. Hearing date: April 30
Access to Justice, which assists low- and moderate-income residents in accessing legal services for issues like housing, family services, and domestic violence, is up for a $27 million cut in funding. Hearing date: May 6
D.C. Food Policy Council, which oversees food accessibility and sustainability policy in the District, was proposed to be cut entirely. Hearing date: May 6
DC Public Schools and DC's charter schools should have equal funding by law, but charter advocates say Bowser did some clever fiscal engineering to lower operating costs for DCPS, but didn't extend those same savings over to charters. Hearing date: May 7
Pay Equity Fund, which uses a tax on the city’s wealthy to raise wages for childcare workers, had their budget almost completely slashed. Hearing date: May 7
Housing Production Trust Fund, which is the city’s primary mechanism for financing affordable housing construction, is facing a 50% cut to its funding. Hearing date: May 12
Universal Paid Leave, which offers paid leave for births, health conditions, and caretaking, is facing a $95 million cut that would pause medical claims for a year. Hearing date: May 12
Or you can go to the last Committee of the Whole meeting, where anyone can show up and speak about any part of the budget. Hearing date: May 13
Sam Delgado is a freelance multimedia journalist living in D.C. She was previously a Future Perfect fellow at Vox.com and a production manager at More Perfect Union.
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