D.C. lawmakers on Wednesday said they would not support a bill in Congress that grants the District nearly full control over its funds because of a condition that mandates tax dollars cannot be used to fund abortions.
Mayor Vincent Gray called the rejection a “tough decision,” but one that stemmed from the city’s desire to have full control of its budget, no strings attached.
“It was just too hard to swallow,” he said at a news conference. “It’s not about whether you’re pro-choice or pro-life, it’s about what the city should be able to do with its own dollars.”
The bill was proposed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and given to the District for review on Monday. The legislation would have amended the Home Rule Act to change the fiscal year start date from Sept. 1 to July 1 and give the city control over its budget as soon as it is passed by the local government. Currently, the city’s budget also has to be approved by Congress before local funds can be spent.
Issa’s bill was everything the city has been asking for — except the permanent ban on city-funded abortions for low-income women in the District, lawmakers said.
Council Chairman Kwame Brown said there was also no guarantee that more riders wouldn’t attach themselves to the bill if they let the abortion one slide.
“We don’t know what the rest of it is,” Brown said. “It could be needle exchange [or] a reversal of our marriage equality.”
Gray, Brown and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton issued a statement earlier Wednesday saying they recognized that the abortion provision is what Issa believed would be necessary to get the bill passed in the House of Representatives.
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Gaining budget independence from Congress has been a rallying cry of city politicians for 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.
