Senate votes to spare D.C. from dramatic budget cuts
You can't spell funding without "fun," but this week wasn't that
The U.S. Senate has a weird way of coming through for D.C. at the last minute, it seems. (Remember the RFK Christmas miracle?)
On Friday evening, Senators swept in to spare D.C. from what city officials said would have been dramatic cuts to its local budget that could have resulted in spending freezes and government layoffs – including among police and teachers.
"The issue is here is just allowing the D.C. government to proceed to spend its own tax revenue," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who sponsored a bill to make D.C.'s budget whole and urged her colleagues to "correct a true inequity." And so they did, approving the bill without objection.
The vote capped off a whirlwind week that started last Saturday night when House Republicans unveiled a federal spending bill to head off a federal government shutdown. Unlike in years past, though, the bill tethered D.C.'s local budget – which is funded by locally raised revenue – to spending levels for federal agencies. This would have forced the city to quickly cut more than $1.1 billion, or roughly 16% of the funds the city budgeted through September.
The House approved the bill on Tuesday over strenuous objections from D.C. officials, who argued that they were already halfway through their fiscal year and that a reduction of that magnitude would likely prompt service cuts and government layoffs. They estimated that the congressional bill would reduce spending for D.C. public and charter schools some $350 million, police $67 million, firefighters $42 million, and homeless services $28 million. The city’s capital budget – which pays for school modernizations and infrastructure – would also be impacted, as would D.C.’s contribution to Metro’s funding.
“Why lay off teachers during the school year? Why cut police while working to reduce crime? Why defund Metro while it wins back riders? That is what the [spending bill] does to D.C. — without saving the federal government a dime. It is undemocratic, un-American, and undermines self-governance,” tweeted D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb on Friday before the vote.
Hundreds of D.C. residents rallied and protested over the course of three days, gathering in Senate office buildings and lobbying staff and senators alike. At the same time, Mayor Muriel Bowser and her aides quietly worked the phones with senators, hoping to draw attention to a budget snafu that had largely escaped the attention of many lawmakers. They caught the attention of Collins, along with senators from Maryland and Virginia.
“I do not support this restriction on the District of Columbia’s ability to use its own funding," said Collins on Thursday.
The Senate bill still needs approval from the House, which doesn't return to Washington until March 24. But it has also already gotten support from the White House and the House Republicans' chief appropriator.
"Senate approval today is a major first step as we continue working with the House of Representatives on final passage to ensure critical services provided in the Nation’s Capital, including our police officers, firefighters, teachers, medical services and hospital network, aren’t haphazardly cut in the middle of the fiscal year," said Bowser in a statement on Friday night. "D.C. is proud of our strong financial management, balanced budgets, and strong bond ratings. Thank you to D.C. residents and schoolchildren, businesses, and our neighbors and friends for highlighting the certain consequences of blocking our local and approved spending."
While the Senate came to D.C.'s aid, the city is still facing troubled times ahead – largely because of the turmoil in the federal government. In a separate move on Friday, D.C. City Administrator Kevin Donahue announced a spending and hiring freeze as a means to help contain expenses ahead of what is expected to be turbulent years ahead for the city's economy and finances.
