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The District: An Innocent Bystander Caught Up In a Federal Government Shutdown Fight

September 19, 2013
Blog

Most Americans are unaware that if the federal government shuts down on September 30, the government of the nation's capital, the District of Columbia, will also shut down. There is not a single member of the House or the Senate who desires that outcome. Most members of Congress are mystified when they come to Congress, whatever their party, to find on the congressional agenda the local budget of the District of Columbia – $8 billion raised by the city, not a dime of it federal money. The city's balanced budgets have won plaudits in this Congress, particularly its over $1.5 billion in reserves. The District's balanced budget, which was submitted to Congress on time, passed both the House and Senate appropriation committees. There's no D.C. issue in the shutdown dispute.

Ironically, D.C. anti-shutdown bills are close to passing in both the House and Senate. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on which I sit, has passed a bill that would give the District more autonomy over its local budget and keep the District from shutting down. The President's fiscal year 2013 budget has a permanent D.C. shutdown-avoidance provision. The Senate Appropriations Committee has the same language in its 2014 D.C. appropriations bill. The House appropriators, in their report, say a government shutdown would be harmful to the District.

American federalism means that local jurisdictions that raise their own funds should be free to use them during a federal government shutdown. A local government shutdown should be out of the question.

Published: September 19, 2013