DC Mayor Calls For Equitable Coronavirus Funding From Congress

WASHINGTON, DC — Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter Tuesday to the leaders of both houses of Congress asking for the District to receive equal funding in the next coronavirus relief bill.

"As Mayor, I am proud to represent 706,000 residents who make Washington, DC their home, but I also graciously accept the serious charge of safeguarding the employees of the federal government and the millions of visitors that come to the National Capital Region each year," Bowser said, in her letter. "It is not lost on me that our response to mitigate the coronavirus plays an important role in the federal government’s operations. Thus, equitable funding for Washington, DC not only affects our residents, but also impacts the National Capital Region and the nation."

In March, Bowser criticized Congress for classifying the District as a territory in the initial Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which resulted in the District receiving only $500 million in relief, while every other state received at least $1.25 billion. At that time, she pointed out that D.C.'s population was larger than two other states, Wyoming and Vermont, which received $755 million more than the District to battle the coronavirus outbreak.

"Our continued ability to contain the spread of the coronavirus, especially as we begin to reopen public and private spaces, is heavily reliant upon equitable funding in the next tranche of coronavirus funding," Bowser said in her letter. "I ask that the next coronavirus funding bill include the U.S. House of Representatives approved measures important to the District of Columbia."

These measures included amending the CARES Act to correct the misclassification of the District as a territory, so it would receive the additional $755 million in relief funding, and t0 ensure language passed by the House of Representatives in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) that provided relief for D.C. at each level of government would be approved.

"Unlike other jurisdictions that can share responsibility and resources when addressing the coronavirus, we have the responsibility of providing all levels of the response, including state, county, and local responses," she said. "Funding using the HEROES Act framework would help ensure that the District of Columbia is sufficiently resourced to address the ongoing effects of the pandemic."

Bowser also asked for language to be included in the new relief bill to show that the District could fully participate in the Municipal Liquidity Facility, so the city could borrow in a "meaningful way" to address its cash flow needs during the pandemic.

"It is critical that the District has unfettered access to the municipal securities market and the associated flow of credit and liquidity to provide essential public services to its citizens," she said.

In addition, Bowser asked that the $600 weekly unemployment benefit, which is due to expire, will be extended.

"Our residents need this funding to keep their families afloat," she said. "It would be unconscionable to leave them without this vital lifeline. The District already faces hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses for public safety and health personnel costs, health care services, small business assistance, matches for public assistance programs including SNAP and Medicaid, administering unemployment benefits, and the costs associated with reopening the District’s public and private spaces. Having to assume the cost of basic needs of thousands of citizens would be too monumental for our local economy to bear."

Congress' decision to classify the District as a territory for CARES Act funding was one of the recent examples Bowser cited as a reason for D.C. statehood. At the end of June, the House of Representatives passed the D.C. statehood bill 232-180, becoming the first of either house of Congress to pass such a bill. The bill has since been sent to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it is expected to fail. President Donald Trump has said he would not sign a D.C. statehood bill.

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.@MayorBowser writes to U.S. Senate & House leadership calling for equal funding for DC in the next Coronavirus relief bill pic.twitter.com/RazjOnlcL2
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) July 21, 2020