The last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown means life largely continues as usual for most people, but some D.C. policies will be changed by the budget deal. The deal includes a measure that bans the District from using city funds to provide abortions for low-income women and a provision to continue a school-voucher program in D.C.
| Voucher program by the numbers |
| 5: Years the program is slated to be re-authorized for |
| $20 million: Federal funds to go toward scholarships each year |
| $40 million: Funds to go toward D.C. public and charter schools each year |
| $8,000: Maximum scholarship for elementary and middle school students |
| $12,000: Maximum scholarship for high school students |
| 2,881: Students who received and used scholarships, 2004-09 |
| Sources: GovTrack.us, Department of Education |
City officials have attacked the so-called “policy riders,” calling them an infringement on the District’s autonomy.
Mayor Vincent Gray lashed out on Twitter Saturday morning, calling the provisions a “shameful violation of our right to govern ourselves.” He later issued a statement saying the city should be able to make fiscal decisions “without partisan congressional meddling.”
The advocacy group D.C. Vote announced it would hold a rally Monday evening outside the Senate’s Hart Office Building to “fight back” about the D.C. measures.
Stripping Republican-proposed policy riders from the budget deal had been a priority for Democrats, who successfully fought efforts to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood and block the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing new global-warming-related regulations. But the District provisions remained.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) repeatedly criticized the District riders during the negotiations process. She said Saturday that continuing debate over a proposed ban on using city funds for needle-exchange programs leaves D.C. “still on the auction block during the final negotiations.”
The abortion provision bars D.C. from using local taxpayer funds to cover abortions for low-income women on Medicaid. A similar ban was lifted in 2009.
The voucher program began in 2004 and gives low-income students money to use toward private school tuition fees. In 2009, Democrats closed the program to new students. Now, the program is slated receive federal funding for the next five years.
The budget deal also means some city services and facilities won’t come to a halt. If a shutdown had occurred, trash pick up would have been delayed for a week, public libraries would have closed and routine street maintenance would have stopped.
George William, spokesman for the D.C. library system, said young children who attend regular story times and job seekers who use library computers would have suffered during a shutdown.
“We’re happy that we’re able to serve the public,” he said.
