The House GOP’s spending bill puts D.C. in a highly unusual situation, leaders say. News4’s Mark Segraves reports.
Washington, D.C., could be forced to lay off a significant number of first responders, police officers, teachers and bus and rail service employees if a GOP-proposed spending bill calling for drastic cuts to D.C.'s budget is approved, city leaders said.
House Republicans unveiled their plan Saturday to avoid a government shutdown and keep the government funded through Sept. 30.
But D.C.'s mayor said the GOP's continuing resolution is "potentially devastating" and puts the District in a "highly unusual situation" as it calls for D.C. to revert back to its fiscal year 2024 budget. That would require the city to cut more than $1 billion in spending in a matter of months, Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Bowser, along with other city leaders, said the continuing resolution treats D.C. like another federal agency rather than recognizing the District's 2025 budget that was already approved by Congress.
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"We are not a federal agency. We are a city, county, state all at once," Bowser said at a news conference Monday. "Our budget was balanced and approved, and if we go back to fiscal 2024 levels we would be forced to reduce spending by $1.1 billion in only six months."
Bowser called on Congress to fix the language in the bill and emphasized that the cuts wouldn't save money for the federal government.
"The District of Columbia raises and spends its own money just like every other state," she said.
"It's not really savings because these are D.C. dollars, not federal dollars. Most folks unfortunately think that D.C. is funded by the federal government. We are not," D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said.
Bowser outlined in a memo to Congress that nearly 75% of D.C.'s budget is from locally generated revenues like taxes and 24% comes from federal grants other states received.
"DC’s federal payment represents just 0.8% of our total budget," the memo states.
Bowser said cutting more than $1 billion in six months would likely mean making cuts to public services that keep the city safe and clean.
"If the Congress goes through with this action, it will work against a priority that President Trump and I share, and that is to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world," she said.
Ten D.C. agencies that make up 70% of its local funds budget would likely face the biggest cuts:
- Metropolitan Police Department
- Fire and Emergency Medical Services
- D.C. Public Schools
- D.C. Public Charter Schools
- Debt service
- Department of Health Care Finance
- Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
- Department of Human Services
- Department of General Services
- Department of Behavioral Health
"Being forced to cut police officers, teachers, bus/rail service, and first responders would contravene the Trump Administration’s vision of making DC a world class national capital," Bowser said in the memo.
The D.C. State Board of Education said the spending bill would have serious ramifications for educations if it passes.
"It would immediately remove upwards of $350 million from our public and public charter schools for the remainder of this fiscal year ending in September. Yet, the intangible costs of such an abrupt, significant reduction would be far greater to our learning communities than could be quantified in dollars and cents," the board said in a statement.
The sudden slash in spending would also impact D.C.'s capital projects and downgrade the city's bond rating, resulting in more expensive borrowing costs, Bowser said.
“With this bill, House Republicans have intentionally committed nothing short of fiscal sabotage against D.C.,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton said.
Officials said the bill would mean about $600 million in cuts to projects for roads, bridges, sidewalks, alleys, road safety, school improvements, WMATA funding and planned improvements to Capital One Arena.
