Poll: National Majority Backs D.C. Budget Autonomy

A new national survey from the District’s primary advocacy group shows large majorities of Americans back the concept of budget autonomy for the city.

The poll was released by DC Vote on D.C. Emancipation Day, the 150th anniversary of slaves in the District being granted their freedom, and as advocates for the city believe momentum may be building on Capitol Hill to grant D.C. more fiscal flexibility. It also comes just after the one-year anniversary of District Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and several Council members being arrested while protesting the imposition by Congress of a ban on locally-funded abortions.

The poll, conducted by the firm Purple Strategies, finds that 71 percent of U.S. adults agree with the statement that District budget decisions should be made by the the city’s taxpayers and elected officials, while 23 percent think those decisions should be made by Congress.

The survey also shows that 78 percent of Americans believe Congress “should not interfere in the city’s local affairs and budget” by ”withholding approval of [the] local budget unless the city agrees to a series of unrelated provisions on issues related to guns and abortion.” (The wording of that question — particularly “interfere” and “unrelated provisions” — could be seen as pointing respondents toward one side of the argument.)

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-wire/post/poll-nation al-majority-backs-dc-budget-autonomy/2012/04/16/gIQABNFbLT_blog.html

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