GOP spending bill seeking immediate $1 billion in cuts to DC budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So because you don’t like bike lanes and liberal criminal justice policies, congress should take taxpayer money and just let it sit unused? I don’t follow this logic.

There is no logic. But, it certainly lends credence to the theory that crime bros and the obsesses bike lane detractors had a political motive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So because you don’t like bike lanes and liberal criminal justice policies, congress should take taxpayer money and just let it sit unused? I don’t follow this logic.

There is no logic. But, it certainly lends credence to the theory that crime bros and the obsesses bike lane detractors had a political motive.

I think you're whistling past the graveyard. Every construction project that hasn't started needs to stop in order to preserve cash flow.

Since you mentioned it, I do think that $32 million for new bike lanes, $53 million for a bike bridge, $60 million for 3 bike trails, $30 million for a bike overpass from Anacostia Metro to Barry Farms and some portion of the $34 million for transportation mitigation is excessive. That's almost $200 million! But that's a local disagreement and none of Congress' business. Lord knows they have an even bigger wasteful spending problem.

Of course there are other questionable large expenditures for us as well. $463 million for the DC jail annex, $515 million for CapitalOne Arena, close to $300 million for the streetcar, $52 million for Vision Zero, $109 million for bus only lanes, $30 million for traffic safety inputs, multiple $100 million+ school renovations.

There's over $200 million appropriated for streetscaping, most of which is going to Chinatown. Heck, almost $50 million was appropriated for modernization of Chevy Chase library and rec center even though they're planning on tearing them down. And then there are things like that bike bridge which was supposed to be supplemented by federal grants that likely don't exist anymore. That doesn't even get into the small potatoes waste like violence interrupters, educational tech subscriptions, and community ambassadors. At this point it is about priorities and preserving our credibility.

It's a bad thing that Congress is meddling in purely local affairs. But there's nothing we can do. We are second class citizens and don't have a legal leg to stand on for this fight. The most important thing for us right now is making sure that necessary things, like HVAC for schools, do not get cut and that home rule survives this moment.

To do that we need to comply around the edges and the more that can be cut from capital projects the better. There will be a bigger more important fight to come and we need to be as well prepared as we can be from both a fiscal and political standpoint. Having extra money in the rainy day fund will be very useful.

One of those bigger things I'm worried about is the expropriation/reappropriation of the funding for these projects by Elon and Trump. In my opinion we need to get as lean as possible in order to prevent them from having extra pots of money to steal from. At some point Bowser is going to have to resign, probably next year, and wish Congress luck on running things. The less capital projects we have the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem is the sense on the Hill that DC wastes an incredible amount of money on frivolous or ineffective programs. Bike lanes, violence interuptors, street murals, luxury apartments for the homeless, etc. Need to fix this going forward…

Even ignoring the merits of this argument, it's unfair. It shouldn't matter to them if D.C. wants to waste its money, though -- it's local dollars, not federal dollars. The principle involved is local control, not fiscal responsibility; if we were wasting federal money, that'd be different.

Well, when congresswomen are assaulted in their DC apartments. And, Congressmen are brazenly carjacked. And when senior Congressional staff suffer life changing wounds. Then the merits sorta go out the window.

Therefore, cut the budget??? Make it make sense.

The DC Council in large part created policies that enabled the crime wave. They all played footsie with the BLM crowd. But NOW they are concerned about public safety funding. OK…

again make it make sense.

The goofy council is on the Hill saying the CR will mean cuts to public safety. Also, they helped create the public safety crisis. Oh, well…

Exactly! This is the council that legalized shoplifting. Unbelievable!

Ok … explain again how budget cuts are going to improve public safety?

The federal government will take over the DC Police Department. Under this new leadership, the DCPD will be supported accordingly. Gone will be the woke DC government mayor and council leadership that loved to indict police officers and glorify criminals.

https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/02/24/trump-takeover-dc-metropolitan-police-department

[Anonymous]

Why are the Democrats supporting this attack on DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So because you don’t like bike lanes and liberal criminal justice policies, congress should take taxpayer money and just let it sit unused? I don’t follow this logic.

There is no logic. But, it certainly lends credence to the theory that crime bros and the obsesses bike lane detractors had a political motive.

I think you're whistling past the graveyard. Every construction project that hasn't started needs to stop in order to preserve cash flow.

Since you mentioned it, I do think that $32 million for new bike lanes, $53 million for a bike bridge, $60 million for 3 bike trails, $30 million for a bike overpass from Anacostia Metro to Barry Farms and some portion of the $34 million for transportation mitigation is excessive. That's almost $200 million! But that's a local disagreement and none of Congress' business. Lord knows they have an even bigger wasteful spending problem.

Of course there are other questionable large expenditures for us as well. $463 million for the DC jail annex, $515 million for CapitalOne Arena, close to $300 million for the streetcar, $52 million for Vision Zero, $109 million for bus only lanes, $30 million for traffic safety inputs, multiple $100 million+ school renovations.

There's over $200 million appropriated for streetscaping, most of which is going to Chinatown. Heck, almost $50 million was appropriated for modernization of Chevy Chase library and rec center even though they're planning on tearing them down. And then there are things like that bike bridge which was supposed to be supplemented by federal grants that likely don't exist anymore. That doesn't even get into the small potatoes waste like violence interrupters, educational tech subscriptions, and community ambassadors. At this point it is about priorities and preserving our credibility.

It's a bad thing that Congress is meddling in purely local affairs. But there's nothing we can do. We are second class citizens and don't have a legal leg to stand on for this fight. The most important thing for us right now is making sure that necessary things, like HVAC for schools, do not get cut and that home rule survives this moment.

To do that we need to comply around the edges and the more that can be cut from capital projects the better. There will be a bigger more important fight to come and we need to be as well prepared as we can be from both a fiscal and political standpoint. Having extra money in the rainy day fund will be very useful.

One of those bigger things I'm worried about is the expropriation/reappropriation of the funding for these projects by Elon and Trump. In my opinion we need to get as lean as possible in order to prevent them from having extra pots of money to steal from. At some point Bowser is going to have to resign, probably next year, and wish Congress luck on running things. The less capital projects we have the better.

please post links to the “bike bridge” budgets. Also it’s odd you think that things like traffic safety and school renovations are frivolous. especially considering DC has a balanced budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem is the sense on the Hill that DC wastes an incredible amount of money on frivolous or ineffective programs. Bike lanes, violence interuptors, street murals, luxury apartments for the homeless, etc. Need to fix this going forward…

Even ignoring the merits of this argument, it's unfair. It shouldn't matter to them if D.C. wants to waste its money, though -- it's local dollars, not federal dollars. The principle involved is local control, not fiscal responsibility; if we were wasting federal money, that'd be different.

Well, when congresswomen are assaulted in their DC apartments. And, Congressmen are brazenly carjacked. And when senior Congressional staff suffer life changing wounds. Then the merits sorta go out the window.

Therefore, cut the budget??? Make it make sense.

The DC Council in large part created policies that enabled the crime wave. They all played footsie with the BLM crowd. But NOW they are concerned about public safety funding. OK…

again make it make sense.

The goofy council is on the Hill saying the CR will mean cuts to public safety. Also, they helped create the public safety crisis. Oh, well…

Exactly! This is the council that legalized shoplifting. Unbelievable!

Ok … explain again how budget cuts are going to improve public safety?

The federal government will take over the DC Police Department. Under this new leadership, the DCPD will be supported accordingly. Gone will be the woke DC government mayor and council leadership that loved to indict police officers and glorify criminals.

https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/02/24/trump-takeover-dc-metropolitan-police-department

“DCPD” = troll tell. you’re not in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think part of the problem is the sense on the Hill that DC wastes an incredible amount of money on frivolous or ineffective programs. Bike lanes, violence interuptors, street murals, luxury apartments for the homeless, etc. Need to fix this going forward…

Even ignoring the merits of this argument, it's unfair. It shouldn't matter to them if D.C. wants to waste its money, though -- it's local dollars, not federal dollars. The principle involved is local control, not fiscal responsibility; if we were wasting federal money, that'd be different.

Well, when congresswomen are assaulted in their DC apartments. And, Congressmen are brazenly carjacked. And when senior Congressional staff suffer life changing wounds. Then the merits sorta go out the window.

Therefore, cut the budget??? Make it make sense.

The DC Council in large part created policies that enabled the crime wave. They all played footsie with the BLM crowd. But NOW they are concerned about public safety funding. OK…

again make it make sense.

The goofy council is on the Hill saying the CR will mean cuts to public safety. Also, they helped create the public safety crisis. Oh, well…

Exactly! This is the council that legalized shoplifting. Unbelievable!

Ok … explain again how budget cuts are going to improve public safety?

The federal government will take over the DC Police Department. Under this new leadership, the DCPD will be supported accordingly. Gone will be the woke DC government mayor and council leadership that loved to indict police officers and glorify criminals.

https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/02/24/trump-takeover-dc-metropolitan-police-department

“DCPD” = troll tell. you’re not in DC.

Whether a DC resident who refers to MPD as such or not, the point seems valid.

[Anonymous]

Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Doesn’t matter. Ds can no longer be trusted. I just deleted my Act Blue account.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Doesn’t matter. Ds can no longer be trusted. I just deleted my Act Blue account.

I mean, it matters if you are a DC resident and are worried about that funding. I live in DC, have kids in DCPS, and am very worried about the funding issue. You can support this bill without donating money to Democrats (in fact I hope enough House GP members vote to support it when it goes to the House later this month).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Whoever did it was smart because it created an incentive to negotiate and Democrats can claim they did something while the GOP got it's bill through.

It's all a game to them and the GOP is playing better (and of course dirtier but that's politics)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Whoever did it was smart because it created an incentive to negotiate and Democrats can claim they did something while the GOP got it's bill through.

It's all a game to them and the GOP is playing better (and of course dirtier but that's politics)

PP and I agree with you and wish the Dems had just voted no on cloture and forced a shutdown. But I'm also deeply relieved that DC is not losing a billion dollars in funding. It's stupid it even came to this but I am grateful to the VA and MD senators for advocating for it and making it happen. It would be worse if they'd just let it go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Whoever did it was smart because it created an incentive to negotiate and Democrats can claim they did something while the GOP got it's bill through.

It's all a game to them and the GOP is playing better (and of course dirtier but that's politics)

PP and I agree with you and wish the Dems had just voted no on cloture and forced a shutdown. But I'm also deeply relieved that DC is not losing a billion dollars in funding. It's stupid it even came to this but I am grateful to the VA and MD senators for advocating for it and making it happen. It would be worse if they'd just let it go.

It’s not a done deal yet. The House still has to vote on it and the President still has to sign it - two big hurdles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to note that the Senate passed a bipartisan bill (unanimous voice vote) to restore funding to DC stripped by the CR. Will need to be voted on by the House later this month, but DC might not lose that billion in funding after all. Bill was spearheaded by the DMV delegation (Van Hollen, Warner, Alsobrooks, Kaine) and then Susan Collins apparently helped get agreement of Republicans.

Not a done deal but the bipartisan support is good news. Regardless of what you think about the CR vote, I am really grateful to the VA, MD, and Maine delegations for stepping up to advance the interests of disenfranchised DC residents.

Would also love to know what turd in the House inserted the provision to the CR that stripped the funding in the first place. No one will fess up to it.

Whoever did it was smart because it created an incentive to negotiate and Democrats can claim they did something while the GOP got it's bill through.

It's all a game to them and the GOP is playing better (and of course dirtier but that's politics)

PP and I agree with you and wish the Dems had just voted no on cloture and forced a shutdown. But I'm also deeply relieved that DC is not losing a billion dollars in funding. It's stupid it even came to this but I am grateful to the VA and MD senators for advocating for it and making it happen. It would be worse if they'd just let it go.

It’s not a done deal yet. The House still has to vote on it and the President still has to sign it - two big hurdles.

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived here for three decades.

DC government is a joke.