Amendments Scuttle D.C. Budget Autonomy Bill

D.C. leaders asked a Senate committee to withdraw a bill that would grant the District budget autonomy in response to amendments introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) that were against the city's priorities.

Paul's amendments included provisions that would allow residents to carry concealed weapons, and make a permanent ban on city funding for abortions, according to the Associated Press.

"Senator Paul's proposed amendments are an insult to the people of our city," Gray told The Washington Post in a statement e-mailed from China, where he is traveling on a trade mission.

Leaders in the District have been down this road before. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) also proposed a bill that would require a ban on city funding for abortions in November, a measure which was rejected by the D.C. officials. However, that didn't deter D.C. leaders such as Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. She remained optimistic that the city was the verge of attaining budget autonomy.

The bill would have allowed the District to set it's own budget without Congressional approval and in accordance with its own fiscal year.

The bill was originally introduced by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn). A spokeswoman for Lieberman says he will continue to work with the District leaders to grant budget autonomy to the city, according to The Associated Press.

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http://wamu.org/news/12/06/27/new_amendments_obstruct_legisl ation_for_dc_budget_autonomy

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