First from Council Chairman Phil Mendelson’s office on Friday:
“DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson issued the following statement in response to Moody’s placing the District’s credit ratings on review for possible downgrade:
“Today’s decision by Moody’s to change our outlook to ‘Under Review,’ further demonstrates how the decision to drastically downsize the federal workforce is hurting our regional economy,” Mendelson said.
“According to Moody’s, this review ‘is prompted by drastic cuts to the federal workforce, which have an outsized impact on the District’s economy, finances and employment.’ The agency is also pointing to potential reductions in federal Medicaid funding as having a negative impact on the District’s credit rating. Their review will focus on the city’s fiscal 2026 and future budgets.
“Despite whatever federal challenges, our FY 2026 Budget will be a balanced budget, as it has been 29 consecutive times before,” Mendelson added. “The District government is well-managed fiscally – better than most states, which Moody’s historically acknowledges. But the shocking and disruptive cuts by the Federal government, as well as our lack of Statehood, continue to hurt the District.”
And from the Post this morning:
“GOP spending bill would lead to $1 billion in D.C. cuts, city officials say”
Council Members Henderson and Lewis George write:
“House GOP have circulated a CR that would require DC government to revert back to FY24 spending levels even though we are 6 months into FY25.
That’s right, we’d have to cut $358m from DCPS & charter schools in the middle of the school year.”
“House leaders’ latest spending proposal would overturn DC’s balanced budget and force the District to make $1 billion in cuts overnight.
Making these cuts means threats to public safety, vital human services, city cleanliness, and much more.”
From the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:
“After House Republicans released a continuing resolution (CR) that omitted a longstanding provision that would allow D.C. to continue to spend under its local fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget, which would force D.C. to revert to spending under the FY 2024 local budget and lead to projected cuts of $1 billion, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) filed an amendment at the Rules Committee to again include the provision. The CR also omitted a provision Norton has gotten included since FY 2015 to exempt D.C. from a federal government shutdown, which Norton’s amendment would also correct. The Rules Committee meets at 4:00 p.m. today to consider amendments to the CR.
“With this bill, House Republicans have intentionally committed nothing short of fiscal sabotage against D.C.,” 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.
“D.C. has not been treated as a federal agency for funding purposes in more than 20 years precisely because doing so can force dramatic overnight cuts to essential services, including police, sanitation, and schools. Cuts to these services would work against Republicans’ stated goal of improving public safety and order in D.C. More importantly, D.C. is not a federal agency. The omissions constitute a dramatic escalation in the Republican effort to undermine what small measure of democracy and autonomy the more than 700,000 residents of the nation’s capital currently have.
“The Revolutionary War was fought to give consent to the governed and to end taxation without representation. The Republican efforts towards a federal government takeover of D.C. run counter to this history. D.C.’s population is larger than that of two states, D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and more than 21 states overall. D.C. residents have fought and died in all this nation’s wars. We deserve statehood, the only measure that would bring D.C. equality with the states and fully protect D.C. residents from this type of disastrous congressional interference.”
Republicans have introduced bills in both chambers of Congress to repeal the Home Rule Act, which aim to abolish the D.C. Council and Mayor’s office, leaving D.C. to depend on members of Congress elected by other jurisdictions to run the District.
The House of Representatives passed the D.C. statehood bill in 2020, the first time in history either chamber of Congress had passed the bill. The House passed it again in 2021. When Norton reintroduced the statehood bill on the first day of this Congress, she did so with 159 original cosponsors, the most original cosponsors of any bill introduced that first day. The bill now has 179 cosponsors. The Senate version, introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), was introduced this Congress with 40 original cosponsors, and now has 41 cosponsors.”