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.
If the bill passes as-is, D.C. officials said the city would have to cut more than $1 billion in spending over the next six months, or the rest of fiscal year 2025. The bill requires D.C. to revert back to its fiscal year 2024 budget. Officials said Congress previously approved the 2025 budget, which was nearly $1.1 billion higher than 2024’s budget.
Mayor Muriel Bowser told Congress in a memo the cuts would have “devastating impacts” on the city. She said the federal government will save no money if it forces the city to revert to 2024 spending levels as nearly 75% of the 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.
“With this bill, House Republicans have intentionally committed nothing short of fiscal sabotage against D.C.,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton said. “If enacted, the CR would effectively repeal D.C.’s local FY 25 budget and force the District to revert to spending under its FY 24 budget levels, with no input from D.C. residents or the officials they elected.
“We’re reminding them that the vast majority of the DC budget is DC taxpayer dollars, not federal funds,” Bowser’s office said in a statement.
Ten D.C. agencies that make up 70% of its local funds budget would face the largest 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 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.
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.
The one positive for D.C. if it’s forced to cut $1 billion is that it would have that amount in surplus in six months. By law, half of that money would have to go to replenishing D.C.’s rainy day reserve funds.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/DBqLjPb
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