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Dear Friend,
 Late Sunday night, the news broke that the current
spending proposal in the US House of Representatives to avoid a
government shutdown includes a disastrous provision
requiring the District to cut more than $1 billion from our
current year's budget. And here's the kicker: it won't
even save the federal government money because they want us to cut
local tax dollars, not federal. It's as ridiculous, reckless, and
misguided as it sounds – and we need your help.
Yesterday, I walked the halls of the Capitol with my
colleagues to knock on doors and talk to members before joining the
Mayor and Congresswoman Norton at a press conference to urge members
of Congress to leave the District's local tax dollars alone, as they
have done in past years. (Covered by The Washington Post and The New York Times.)
Again, these are your local tax dollars – paid through
property taxes, income taxes, and sales tax. They pay the
salaries of the people who keep the city running every day: teachers
and classroom aides, police officers, firefighters and EMS staff,
social workers, trash collectors, crossing guards, building
inspectors, and so many more.
I don't usually send emails like this, but the District needs your
help urgently. The city's budget is in jeopardy. Please take a few minutes
today to call Speaker Mike Johnson's office. The
number is 202-225-2777. And ask your friends and family who have
congressional representation to call on your behalf, as well.
Here are some simple talking points:
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The cuts proposed in the Continuing Resolution will
immediately jeopardize public safety and core government
functions. The
unprecedented decision to decimate the District's budget mid-year
would result in immediate and far-reaching cuts to our most critical
government services, including police officers, firefighters, and
teachers. Those agencies’ budgets are mostly salaries, so a reduction
of $1.1 billion will require immediate RIFs, furloughs, and hiring
freezes. This will make our streets less safe, lengthen wait times for
fire and EMS calls, keep people on the street who could move out of
homelessness, delay trash collection, and freeze teacher
hiring.
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These are DC funds, not federal funds – paid by our
residents – and if cut, they would go
unspent. Because these funds come from
locally paid tax dollars, they won’t somehow return to the federal
government if they're cut. A 16% cut to the District’s local spending
in this current year – which we're already halfway through – won't
result in "efficiency", and it will mean these local tax dollars
literally sit unused and wasted in a lockbox while city services
deteriorate.
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This would have a devastating and immediate impact
on the District’s economy and undermine our shared goal of ensuring
the nation’s capital remains a place all Americans can be proud
of – especially when combined with the
recent economic forecast indicating we’re moving toward a local
recession in our four-year financial plan due to federal government
layoffs. Moody’s rating agency is now considering downgrading the
District’s bond rating as a result of the Administration's layoffs,
which will make borrowing more expensive and cost much more to build
or repair schools, bridges, and roads. This will
exacerbate the situation further.
And make no mistake: this is only happening because we don't have
autonomy and full representation in Congress.
Could you imagine Congress trying to tell the state of Florida or
Texas to cut its local budget mid-year, especially when the federal
government wouldn't even get those dollars "back"? It's as ridiculous
as it sounds. DC has passed 28 balanced budgets through good times and
bad, unlike the federal government, which might shut down as soon as
Friday. Despite some misguided perceptions, DC's budget has a lower
percentage of federal dollars than the average state. And again, the
proposed cuts would be to local dollars anyway and have no bearing on
the disastrous campaign to reduce federal spending.
Simply put, there is no logic or reasoning behind this massive
threat to DC residents, and thank you in advance for standing up for
DC.
Thanks,
Charles Allen
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