Lieberman Plans D.C. Budget Autonomy Bill

On the same day that a poll showed overwhelming national support for D.C. budget autonomy and ahead of an advocacy day on the issue tomorrow on the Hill, Roll Call reports that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will introduce legislation that would grant the city the right to spend its own money:

A senior Senate Democratic aide confirmed to Roll Call that the Connecticut Independent and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over D.C. affairs, will sponsor a bill severing the link between the city’s budget and the Congressional appropriations process...The text of Lieberman’s budget autonomy bill has not yet been released, but proponents of expanded autonomy for District residents are hopeful that it would not contain riders designed to make a D.C. rights bill more palatable to conservative lawmakers.

A version likely to be offered in the House would allow D.C. to spend its own money while maintaining a ban on the use of local funds for abortions. Lieberman has long been a supporter of D.C. voting rights, having introduced a measure in 2007 that would have given the city a voting seat in the House.

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http://dcist.com/2012/04/lieberman_plans_dc_budget_autonomy. php

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