Civicsense

💰Congress strips $1.1 billion from DC budget as punishment

Economy
Local Issues
Tax & Budget

Congress passed a stopgap spending bill that froze Washington D.C.'s fiscal year 2025 budget at 2024 levels, stripping $1.1 billion from the city's general fund according to the Congressional Record. Initial unemployment claims in D.C. jumped 36% to 1,780 two weeks later as federal workers and contractors filed benefits, even as nationwide claims fell 3% to 213,000. The budget freeze punishes the district while federal agencies maintain their funding levels.

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Why This Matters

💼 4,000 unemployment claims filed in DC by mid-February—55% increase from previous year

Federal contract freeze eliminates 15,000 private sector jobs dependent on government projects. Home Rule Act allows Congress to control local budget.

🏠 Mayor Bowser must cut $410 million from affordable housing and mental health programs

DC raises 75% of revenue locally but lacks voting representation. Congressional budget cuts force service reduction without democratic input.

🗳️ District residents face taxation without representation during appropriation decisions

Only voting House members can influence federal spending affecting local services. Statehood provides constitutional protection from congressional interference.

📞 Contact DC Statehood office supporting H.R. 51 to prevent future budget manipulation

Call 202-724-8196 demanding full congressional representation. Only statehood eliminates federal control over local governance.

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Detailed Content

1

Match each of the following institutional factor or outcome in the District of Columbia’s 2025 budget crisis with its specific impact: A. Omission of D.C. budget autonomy provision in the March 11, 2025 continuing resolution B. Lack of voting representation in Congress C. $1.1 billion local fund shortfall (per CBO score of S. 1077) D. 26% week-over-week spike in D.C. unemployment claims (week ending Feb. 22, 2025) Choose the correct pairings.

Matching
Local Issues
2

How much did Mayor Muriel Bowser project she would save by imposing a citywide hiring freeze in her supplemental FY2025 budget?

Multiple Choice
Government
3

What emergency freeze measures did Mayor Muriel Bowser enact on April 15, 2025, after Congress’s continuing resolution stripped $1.1 billion from D.C.’s fiscal 2025 budget?

Multiple Choice
Local Issues
4

How much did Congress cut from the District of Columbia’s budget by reverting it to FY 2024 spending levels in the full-year continuing resolution passed on March 11, 2025?

Multiple Choice
Local Issues
5

Which D.C. Council member publicly led opposition to the March 2025 federal cuts that stripped $1.1 billion from the city’s budget?

Multiple Choice
Local Issues
6

Which guiding principle did Mayor Muriel Bowser emphasize in her May 27, 2025 testimony before the D.C. Council when revising the FY 2025 budget after Congress froze the city’s funding?

Multiple Choice
Local Issues
7

What policy did the District of Columbia’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act repeal regarding sanctuary city protections established by the Sanctuary Values Amendment Act of 2019?

Multiple Choice
Government
8

Which institutional factor most limited Washington, DC’s ability to contest the $1.1 billion cut imposed under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (H.R. 1968, Public Law 119-4, March 15, 2025), forcing the District to revert to its FY 2024 budget midyear and contributing to a 22.6% spike in initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending July 5, 2025?

Multiple Choice
Tax & Budget
9

On March 14, 2025, did the U.S. Senate pass the District of Columbia Local Funds Act of 2025 to reverse a $1.1 billion cut from the District’s budget, while the U.S. House of Representatives did not bring that legislation to the floor before its April 11, 2025 recess?

True/False
Government
10

Did the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4), enacted March 15, 2025, cut Washington, D.C.’s locally funded FY 2025 general fund by $1.1 billion, exceeding the nearly $945 million reduction initially projected by the House continuing resolution proposal?

True/False
Government
11

Does the District’s revised fiscal year 2025 budget include a pull back on the Universal Family Leave program, as reported by The Georgetowner on June 2, 2025?

True/False
Local Issues
12

Does D.C.’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget eliminate the new refundable Child Tax Credit program, established by D.C. Law 25-217 to take effect for taxable year 2025, before it had a chance to disburse benefits?

True/False
Tax & Budget
13

Under § 1-204.46a(a)(2) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act (Public Law 93-198; 87 Stat. 774; Dec. 24, 1973, as amended), the District may increase its local fund appropriations by what maximum aggregate percentage in a fiscal year to account for unanticipated revenue growth?

True/False
Local Issues
14

Did District of Columbia leaders argue that the March 11, 2025 stopgap spending measure (Continuing Appropriations Act documented at Congressional Record H.1083) freezing D.C.’s FY 2025 budget at FY 2024 levels—and stripping $1.1 billion from its general fund—violated the principle of "no taxation without representation" because residents pay federal taxes yet lack voting representation in Congress?

True/False
Constitutional Law
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