Gray Lauds Obama's Push For D.C. Budget Autonomy

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and other city leaders hailed the Obama Administration's push to give the city more budget autonomy at a gathering on the front steps of the Wilson Building Monday.

If the provision in the President's budget is adopted by Congress, and that's a big if, D.C. would be able to avoid some of the nightmare scenarios that threaten the District every time there is talk of a federal government shutdown. Because D.C. is essentially treated as a department of the federal government  the city's budget is tied to the federal appropriations bill. So that means if the federal government shuts down,  so too does most of the District government, including garbage pickup, parking enforcement and many other basic services.

The new provision calls for the District to spend its local tax dollars without waiting for Congress to pass its own federal appropriations bill.

D.C. leaders also want to change the city's budget calendar, which right now is tied to the federal government's fiscal year schedule. They say it splits the school year in half, making budgeting decisions difficult. The Congressional Republicans who oversee the District on Capitol Hill have said they are open to working with city leaders to grant D.C. more budget autonomy.

Gray, in his State of the District address last week, identified local budget autonomy as a key goal for his administration, and he's holding a press conference later today with other District leaders to rally support for the proposal.

To listen to story click link below.

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http://wamu.org/audio-player?nid=46209

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