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Dear Friend, In celebration of Black History Month, I invite you Special thanks to Pat Joseph and Charnisa Royster on my staff, along with D.C. Public Library, who have organized the screening of this film based on the inspirational life of Harriet Tubman. The movie follows Tubman’s escape from slavery and road to becoming one of our country’s most revered freedom fighters and icons of courage. If you’re still undecided, we’ll even have popcorn and light refreshments thanks to Naval Lodge No. 4! Additional details about Sunday's screening are here. In the spirit of historic moments, I also joined my colleagues last week for a committee mark-up and vote on H.R. 51, the bill in the House of Representatives that would grant the District statehood. As we get closer to determining who will lead both the White House and Congress in November, it was a special moment for the District and a significant milestone in making our case for becoming the 51st state. Keep reading for news about paid family leave, my latest legislative efforts, and more! LEGISLATIVE UPDATES Keeping Our Ethical House in Order: I’ve become very focused on making sure that our local institutions of government draw very bright lines around ethics. Even the appearance of conflicts of interest need to be addressed to restore your trust in our government. With that in mind, I recently introduced a bill that would prohibit the D.C. Housing Finance Agency’s (DCHFA) Board of Directors from using agency programs during their terms of service to help prevent actual and perceived business-related conflicts. Right now, board members are put in the position of giving approval for tax incentives for their colleagues on the board. Like most state and local housing finance agencies, DCHFA’s board was designed to represent a cross-section of professionals who are knowledgeable about home lending and development. Developers are often the product of those combined areas of expertise, and currently all five DCHFA board members are also housing developers who develop real estate in the District. Many of the board members’ developments are financed using tax-exempt bonds and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by DCHFA. Certainly this gives an appearance of conflicts even if board members strictly follow ethics rules. My bill adds additional protection for taxpayers by preventing board members’ explicit use of these programs given their decision-making authority. You can read the full press release for the Housing Finance Agency Conflict of Interest Prevention Amendment Act of 2020 here and follow the bill’s progress here. Paid Family and Medical Leave for District Workers:
At the end of January, I held my ninth oversight roundtable
on implementation of the District’s paid family and medical leave law
that will enable District workers to If you would like to read the latest testimony from DOES Director Unique Morris-Hughes at my roundtable, it can be found on my website here. Keeping Affordable Housing a Priority: If you have been following the D.C. Housing Authority’s (DCHA) plans to redevelop its headquarters, you may share many of my concerns about whether the agency is meeting its mission and working in the best interest of those who need affordable housing the most. DCHA is a top focus for me, which is why I spent a recent Friday night attending the Committee on Housing’s public oversight roundtable on DCHA’s 20-year Transformation Plan. This is the agency’s plan to address deferred maintenance and capital improvements at more than 6,000 units in DCHA’s public housing stock. After over six hours hearing testimony from the public and DCHA Director Tyrone Garrett, I continue to have serious concerns about the city’s strategies for using millions of taxpayer dollars to fund redevelopment projects. Their plans continue to lack clear guarantees that the city will maintain ownership of these properties and safeguard current public housing tenants’ abilities to keep their homes. You can find a good Twitter recap of the roundtable here and watch the full video here. What’s Happening with the Budget: Thanks to the
many new Performance oversight is a critical part of our process for deciding what needs should be better met by District agencies, which is why I’ll urge you again to advocate for the issues that are most important to you. I’ll begin performance oversight hearings for agencies within my Committee on Labor and Workforce Development this week. Find my committee's schedule below, and the full Council schedule of performance oversight hearings here.
COMMUNITY UPDATES On the Air with Kojo Nnamdi: I recently joined Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood in WAMU’s studio for The Politics Hour! We talked about why investing in housing is more important than building a new NFL stadium, my concerns about the ongoing crisis with the D.C. Housing Authority, the importance of transparency in our procurement practices, and much more. If you missed us live, you can listen here! Summer Youth Employment Program Open: Applications for the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) are now open through February 29! Youth ages 14-24 years old are eligible to participate and can apply here. If you are a business owner interested in hosting MBSYEP participants this summer, we need you too. You can register to become a host employer for summer youth here. Upcoming Events
Thanks so much for reading. Elissa. Councilmember Elissa Silverman |
Councilmember Elissa Silverman · 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 408, Washington, DC 20004, United States This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails, click here. |
to join me and my staff for a free screening
of HARRIET on Sunday, February 23, at 2:00pm at the Watha T.
Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library (1630 7th St. NW)! 
begin receiving
benefits this upcoming July. I have received a number of questions
from District workers about whether their current circumstances (for
example, the expected birth of a child before July) would allow them
to qualify for benefits when the program goes into effect. One of the
key discussions at this roundtable was about finalizing the rules and
regulations that will help answer those types of worker and employer
questions. The Department of Employment Services (DOES) will complete
these rules and regulations by the end of March. DOES will then be
able to advise the public about the benefits’ clear guidelines. You
can expect to see an outreach campaign about access and eligibility
for our family and medical leave program in the spring. 
and already-familiar partners who attended my
winter open house to meet my staff and share upcoming budget and
legislative priorities! Earlier this month, the District’s Chief
Financial Officer (CFO) distributed his Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report (CAFR) on the financial health of the District based on our
last fiscal year. At the annual hearing on the CAFR, the CFO confirmed
that the city’s finances are in good standing and that we even saw a
significant surplus of revenue.