The District’s quest for financial independence from Congress might still be within reach even after D.C. leaders last week rejected a budget autonomy proposal because of a restriction on abortion funding. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement the bill proposed last week by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., “is probably the best chance the District has for getting budget autonomy in the near future,” and she and “Issa agreed that they have come too far to give up on getting a final bill” before Congress.
The bill would grant D.C. nearly full control over its budget by giving the District the authority to spend its own funds after the local budget has been passed by the city council and approved by the mayor.
But the measure, which would have amended the Home Rule Act, contained a rider that permanently banned the District from spending its local revenue on funding abortions, which the District provides for low-income women.
At a meeting of the Oversight and Government Reform Committe, of which Issa is chairman, those in support of the District’s budget freedom said they understood the rider was not the chairman’s idea, but he felt that including it was the only way such a bill could be passed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Norton took issue with the permanency of the abortion provision because there was no potential for reversal should Democrats retake the House.
Issa said he hoped to bring a bill to the House floor in January but was concerned more riders would derail the legislation. He is asking for all riders from both parties to be submitted while the bill is in markup so they may be addressed early on.
“We do not want to be surprised unfairly,” Issa said. “If they’ve got something let’s know about it — I don’t want to have something hypothetical on the House floor. … I will keep the light on this issue until we have a law.”
Earlier in the week, District officials had said they could not support the bill with the permanent rider. But Norton and Issa later vowed to keep working on a compromise until they came up with something city officials could throw their weight behind.
Gaining budget independence from Congress has been a rallying cry of city politicians since D.C. won home rule in 1974. The effect of that marriage hit home this April when a potential federal government shutdown threatened city services and the beloved National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade.
