A House committee has approved a bill that would block the District of Columbia government from spending local tax dollars without approval by Congress.
The party-line vote was not a surprise after Republican leaders said the city’s so-called “budget autonomy” law was an illegal attempt to take power away from Congress.
The District government has sent its budget to Congress for approval every year since the city was granted home rule in 1973. But this year, city leaders planned to skip that step. City voters approved a referendum granting freedom over the budget to the District, and a judge ruled in the city’s favor after the law was challenged in court.
The arcane issue of how and when the city can spend its money is a big deal to local officials and advocates of home rule, who say it’s unfair for the city government to be treated like a federal agency. Roughly three-quarters of the city’s $13 billion budget comes from local tax dollars rather than federal appropriations. In the past, the city government has been forced to close during federal shutdowns even though it had the money to continue operating.
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