The District should expect a much easier time navigating Capitol Hill with the Democrats in charge of Congress, a key House member told Mayor Adrian Fenty Friday.
“We have spent too much time in the past I think giving D.C. a hard time,” U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said during a subcommittee hearing on the District’s proposed fiscal 2008 budget. “That time has passed.”
Serrano chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.
District leaders, who will count on Congress for action on voting rights, education reform and the expansion of the city’s tax base, were thrilled with Congress’s fresh attitude toward the nation’s capital.
“It was wonderful to hear him say that,” said D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, who testified along with Fenty and Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi.
On Thursday, 22 House Republicans joined all but six Democrats to sanction the D.C. voting rights bill. Members will next be asked to adopt Fenty’s school takeover bid expeditiously — leaving enough time for the mayor and his staff to prepare for the 2007-2008 school year.
Congress must act on education reform legislatively because the proposal requires a change to the Home Rule Charter.
“Education is the key between success and failure in life,” Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich., said to Fenty. “I commend you for taking it over.”
With regard to schools, Serrano said he is “convinced there has to be leadership at the top” and promised House action “as quickly as possible.”
The subcommittee’s ranking minority member, Ohio Rep. Ralph Regula echoed thosecomments.
“That’s the greatest thing you can do, provide the leadership,” Regula said.
