Bo Shuff: The tyranny of congressional oversight strikes again
Late last month Congress cheated DC out of its fair share of federal relief aid, and now we learn that the District faces an anticipated $607 million revenue shortfall due to the impact of COVID-19. Congress saddled Washingtonians with a massive budget gap that puts at risk our ability to maintain our social safety net, protect those now at risk and emerge from this pandemic in the most successful way possible.
The behavior of Congress continues the pattern of suppressing the rights of DC taxpayers simply because they can. This oppressive relationship with Congress is abominable — and it must end.
Although legislators’ support for DC statehood is at a historic high, Congress continues its legacy of shortchanging Washingtonians with discriminatory tactics and legislative maneuvering. As Americans, we deserve to be treated equally and receive equitable access to resources like each of the states.
For example, Illinois passed legislation last year to legalize the sale of marijuana, resulting in soaring tax revenue — an additional $10 million in just one month. Nine other states generate revenues from the commercial sale of cannabis. When it comes to the District, Congress used questionable legislative tactics — namely, attaching a budget rider — to deny us access to a similar revenue stream. Never mind that Mayor Muriel Bowser, the DC Council and the people of the District support the taxation and regulation of personal adult-use cannabis.
Other states, like New York, can tax income where it is earned, more fairly compensating for the costs of civic services provided to commuters. When it comes to DC, language in the Home Rule Charter, forced upon us by Congress, expressly prohibits this — a prohibition not imposed on any other jurisdiction. The residents of DC pay more in taxes than 22 states but are denied the representation promised to all.
Without statehood, the people of DC are treated as mere subjects.
The ability of the mayor and the council to address the challenges we face is hindered, not helped, by congressional oversight. Regular legislation must go through an inefficient and cumbersome congressional review, to which no other jurisdiction anywhere in the United States is subject. Except in the case of emergency legislation, 30 legislative days — no, not calendar days — must pass before any new law in DC can go into effect. Thus, DC is at the mercy of the House and Senate until they meet again to act upon legislative requests, even as our public health crisis escalates.
Congress continues to disregard past lessons applicable to current challenges. What we are learning about the impact of COVID-19 brings into stark relief that communities of color are disproportionately affected. While COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, decades of policy decisions have done so, and they are now killing African Americans at a higher rate.
These harrowing statistics are distressingly similar to what we saw during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Congress blocked medically sound, locally funded clean needle exchange programs here in DC for nearly 10 long, deadly years. Before Congress finally acquiesced, DC had the highest HIV rate in the country, and African Americans accounted for 80% of the cases. A study commissioned by the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University showed that just two years after the lifting of the clean needle exchange ban, more than 100 people had avoided infection and there had been a savings of $44 million in lifetime medical costs.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need for DC statehood. Our public health and economic future are stymied by congressional interference and discrimination. To let this stand leaves our lives and financial future in the hands of a Congress that is not elected by our people, does not represent our residents, and is out of step with our values. We are Americans. We deserve our fair share of federal aid. We don’t deserve marginalized, outdated and discriminatory treatment.
Are we going to sit back and watch our neighbors suffer during this pandemic because we are chained and gagged by Congress? Together we can and will do something to change this injustice. Visit showup4dc.com/cheated for resources. As you connect with family, friends and colleagues in this “new normal,” share with them what is not normal about life in DC.
Bo Shuff serves as the executive director of DC Vote, a national citizen engagement and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening democracy and securing equality for all in the District of Columbia.
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DC gets more of federal relief aid when you use per job lost, and likely to be lost compared to every other city or jurisdiction. Virtually no one working for departments, ie the massive over representation of federal jobs, are seeing their jobs lost. This also means secondary employment due to federal employment the people all those federal workers supply goods and services to, are seeing less loss in DC compared to say NY, NJ, Mass, etc.
Infection rate is not what the aid is supposed to be based on, yet this article uses tat as a strawman. The aid is for harm to economic activity , and DC has the lowest economic harm rates per infection in the entire USA