Maryland, Virginia Senators Urge House to Pass D.C. Budget Fix

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen, Angela Alsobrooks (both D-Md.), Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine (both D-Va.) urged House Republican leadership to take up and pass the bipartisan legislation, passed previously by the Senate, to allow the District of Columbia to use its own local funding. Today marks two months since that bill, authored by Senator Van Hollen and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) – and cosponsored by Senators Warner, Kaine, and Alsobrooks – passed the Senate unanimously.

“The District of Columbia should be able to spend its own revenue without Congress getting in the way. Yet by freezing over $1 billion of D.C.’s own funds through their sham funding bill in March, House Republicans are holding the District hostage – threatening the operations of local law enforcement, fire departments, schools, and more. This is all pain for D.C. residents, and no gain for federal taxpayers who aren’t saving a single cent as a result of this pointless provision. Two months ago today, the Senate unanimously passed the bill Senator Collins and I authored to fix this issue, and President Trump has urged the House to do the same. It’s time for Speaker Johnson to let this bill move forward and release D.C.’s funds,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“I worked with my fellow DMV Senators to pass a bipartisan solution to the $1.1 billion budget cuts in the disastrous CR. It has been waiting on the House’s vote for two months. At a time when our neighbor D.C. is experiencing economic hardship and hundreds of civil servants, many of whom are Marylanders, are losing their jobs in the district, we need to make sure this budget fix gets passed,” said Senator Alsobrooks.  

“It’s been two months since the Senate passed, with bipartisan support, a simple fix that allows the District of Columbia the ability make its own funding decisions, yet the House still refuses to act. Each day that this legislation stalls, we are leaving D.C. in the lurch, threatening the District’s schools, public safety, and emergency response operations. It’s well past time for the House to act,” Senator Warner said.

“Republican House leadership’s decision to stall a bipartisan bill—which even President Trump supports—to allow D.C. to spend its own money is ridiculous and wrong,” said Senator Kaine. “Law enforcement officers’ salaries and the quality of D.C.’s public schools and transportation have hung in the balance for months because of the House’s failure to act. It’s time for Speaker Johnson to do his job, and bring this bill up for a vote like he promised.”