Bill to End Congressional Control of D.C. Budget Introduced

Bill to End Congressional Control of D.C. Budget Introduced

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA) today introduced the District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act of 2007 to allow the city to enact its own local budget without annual congressional oversight. "Next to H.R. 328, the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, this bill is the most important to the District of Columbia that will come before Congress this session," Norton said. Short of statehood, budget autonomy is regarded as the single most important right of a jurisdiction to govern itself. Norton will seek an early hearing that will include Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council Chair Vincent Gray. The bill is part of Norton's "Free and Equal D.C. Series" to give the city control over its core functions without congressional intrusion and to transfer provisions in the Home Rule Act to the District to enable the city to better manage its finances and operations. One bill in the series, H.R. 392, authorizing specially designed circulating quarters for D.C. and the territories, already has passed the House.

Last year Norton got Congress to approve her Mid-year Budget Autonomy bill, offering the first freedom from the federal appropriations process, the most important structural change for the city since passage of the Home Rule Act 32 years ago. The District can now spend its local funds without congressional approval, instead of returning mid-year as part of the federal appropriations supplemental. Full budget autonomy would take the city a giant step further, permanently freeing the District from major delays and floor fights about national matters unrelated to the city's budget year after year. Among other hardships, the delays and uncertainty of the congressional process affects the city's bond rating, reduces the accuracy of revenue forecasts and critical financial planning, and causes countless operational problems for city agencies. For example, delays one year forced the D.C. Public Schools to spend at the previous year's budget levels under a congressional continuing resolution and led to textbooks being returned to publishers under contract provisions; reduction in the number of buses under the bus lease contract, creating longer rides for disabled children; unpaid tuition payments for special education students; and cancellation of school supplies, among other severe operational problems.

http://www.norton.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=488