The forecast offers good news: DC isn't facing a budget deficit, as revenue is ticking up compared to June. The report also signals a new urgency--DC must act quickly to pass tax changes to save $658M due to reckless federal tax cuts that will flow into DC's tax code automatically.

Here’s my article on how a government shutdown works. Shutdowns are complicated, and each shutdown is different. Some things stay open. Some stay open for a bit and eventually close. Some close immediately. I did my best to explain it all here:

DC is battling austerity policies at the national & local levels. As Republicans have us barreling towards a local recession, Mayor Bowser is adding fuel to the fire w/her budget proposal. See DCFPI's new blog that pulls back the curtain and offers our first take on Bowser's proposal. ⏬⏬⏬

Today, the House approved a budget bill that included devastating cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicare, programs that tens of thousands of people in DC rely on every day. These plans would create new cuts and barriers that would have sustained effects on the District.

Spending local tax dollars in fy26 and beyond on RFK is a bad deal, but like @tazramitchell.bsky.social says to @jakesherman.bsky.social let's not conflate that issue with Congress keeping us from using our own tax dollars this year... x.com/TazraMitchel...

Thank you to @mayorbowser.bsky.social for using tools to protect DC’s local budget by reducing the Congressional budget cut to $400M from $1.1B. Even w/this progress, today she made clear the drastic measures necessary to make remaining cuts, including furloughs & contract pauses.

The Mayor’s budget may be delayed, but we do have some insight into her priorities by way of her office’s Guiding Principles. How does a program like the Pay Equity Fund stack up against these principles? Let’s dig in 🧵

More than 140,000 residents of the District are at risk of not having enough to eat if the proposals in Congress to make cuts to the nation’s primary food assistance program are not defeated. loom.ly/XbDZL9c

Today’s @Axios DC newsletter includes some misconceptions about taxes in DC. Looking at top tax rates, rather than effective rates, tells only part of the story. @ORAdcgov’s analysis consistently finds that DC residents’ level of tax responsibility is lower than our neighbors.

Mass federal layoffs mean cuts to crucial public services and major strains on our local budget and economy. A new blog from @centeronbudget.bsky.social's @wesleytharpe.bsky.social dives into the harmful effects of these layoffs 🧵 www.cbpp.org/blog/sweepin...

Further confirming what @tazramitchell.bsky.social wrote in her blog addressing the misunderstandings of the Senate fix to the fed CR that will cut $1b from DC's budget-->CBO score shows $0 cost to fed govt b/c Congress is limiting use of local NOT federal tax dollars www.cbo.gov/publication/...

Impact explained by Vince Hall @feedingamerica.org With inflation rising & fundraising down - food banks are at a moment of extraordinary demand that is taxing them 2 the breaking point. Any interruption of food sources will mean serious consequences to our neighbors facing hunger. wapo.st/41Xz09A

The US Senate has approved a bipartisan bill that would undo the $1 billion cut Congress forced on DC's current budget. The House should act next week to do the same. Our Chief Policy and Strategy Officer, @tazramitchell.bsky.social, debunks 5 myths about the bill: www.dcfpi.org/all/five-mis...

No sign DOGE significantly cut spending or the deficit in February according to CBO. Federal outlays grew 7% compared to last year and the deficit grew 5%.

It would also restrict DC's ability to set its budget. bsky.app/profile/mlea...

The Trump Admin is reportedly promising House Republicans that it will break the law in order to get their votes for the government funding bill. The Admin is required to spend *at* the levels in the continuing resolution—spending below those amounts is against the law.

The House Republican government funding bill would give more money to defense while cutting domestic operations. Many media outlets are incorrectly describing the GOP bill a just a simple extension of current spending levels, but that is dead wrong.

Full year CRs are no way to govern. They ignore new realities and needs. But using a CR to hurt 700k residents & thousands more ppl who work in & visit DC by forcing deep cuts late in the year in public safety and schools and health care for no federal fiscal purpose is shameful.

The House CR is deeply problematic – but one of the very worst parts of the CR is it would force immediate cuts in the DC budget -- to police, schools, transportation & more.

Congress should not go back on its word. It should allow DC use its locally generated revenue at the levels Congress approved last year to fund police, schools, and other critical services.

The House may vote as soon as tomorrow on a federal government funding bill that contains a hidden, devastating surprise for the District of Columbia: a requirement that DC drastically slash its budget halfway through the fiscal yr, causing immediate cuts to police, schools, transportation & more.

My new blog on why imposing a per capita cap on #Medicaid expansion cuts federal expansion funding just like explicit cuts to the expansion matching rate. It similarly shifts more & more costs to states forcing them to drop expansion over time, which is the intent: ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/03/07/i...

DC is ranked 1st in the nation for most expensive infant care--at an avg annual cost of $28,356, or $2,363 a month. Cuts to DC programs that bolster the city's early education ecosystem--and affordability within it--would be costly to DC's families, children, small businesses, and economy. #ChooseDC

Covering for Anne Gunderson, I testified before the DC Council's Committee of the Whole to discuss the vital role the Pay Equity Fund plays in the early eduation ecosystem. Her written testimony shows how the PEF & child care subsidy program benefit kids, educators, & the DC economy.

We need @MayorBowser @ChmnMendelson to #ChooseDC for the #DCBudget. That means standing up for affordable housing, schools, jobs, health care, workers, our elders, our culture & community—everything that keeps DC strong. @FairBudgetDC FY26 platform: bit.ly/ChooseDCPlatform

#ChooseDC: we need a #DCBudget from @MayorBowser @ChmnMendelson that serves as a shelter from the storm of federal threats and uncertainty and reaffirms the commitment to DCs future. @FairBudgetDC FY26 platform: bit.ly/ChooseDCPlatform

Fact check: Social Security has been under a hiring freeze & had overtime restrictions for months. This isn't DOGE saving money. It's Congress not being able to pass a budget. And it accounts for over 2/3 of the "savings" the acting commissioner claimed today. www.govexec.com/management/2...

Learn about the mild recession DC is heading into due to federal layoffs from @tazramitchell.bsky.social

Don’t let anyone tell you this bill would not harm people by taking away food assistance, health coverage and other important services from people who need them. All in service of giving wealthy people tax cuts.

What Can House Republicans Cut Instead of Medicaid? Not Much. via @sangerkatz.bsky.social + @aliciaparlap.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/u...

The US House budget resolution that the GOP approved last night paves the way for deep cuts to Medicaid, which provides services to 40% of DC residents. CAP estimates that DC cuts could be $2.05B--and this doesn't account for potentially deeper cuts to DC's FMAP specifically.

Happy to share my first piece for @centeronbudget.bsky.social. This is on the magic math the House Budget Committee is using to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy (while cutting $2T of popular programs like Medicaid and SNAP). www.cbpp.org/blog/house-b...

Keep this in mind as House Republicans vote for a budget framework that would gut Medicaid (relied on by 72 million) and food stamp programs (relied on by 42 million people).

The Mayor just announced huge housing legislation. Unfortunately, it does nothing to address rising rents and constrained supply. It would make it easier to evict people and strips many tenants of their TOPA rights.

DC's Annual Audit is online. For the first time in several years, DC didn't end the fiscal year w/an excess surplus. By law, those excess dollars would have been split evenly between the HPTF & capital projects, giving affordable housing investments a jumpstart in the budget.

Unelected agents of a oligarch have seized core services of the state without legal sanction or authorization; yes, that's a coup

Let’s get BATty 🤓 Check out @ericawilli.bsky.social @nickjohnson4.bsky.social and my report on why DC should adopt a Business Activity Tax (BAT)…details below!

I fell asleep while reading this.

by freezing all federal grants, trump is fundamentally transforming the relationship between the executive and congress. he is asserting dictatorial authority over federal spending, transforming congress's lawmaking powers into advisory authority. it is a constitutional crisis

With the scoop from @marisakabas.bsky.social on the radical OMB memo pausing federal spending, read this essential FAQ from Richard Kogan of @centeronbudget.bsky.social on why this impoundment of federal $ is unconstitutional and violates the Impoundment Control Act. www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

BREAKING: In a new executive order sent out by the White House, Donald Trump has revoked the federal contractor nondiscrimination executive order, EO 11246, that was signed by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 and has protected employees of businesses seeking federal contracts from discrimination ever since.

Congrats to @dczielinski.bsky.social for his first @dcfpi.bsky.social blog: 30,000 District Residents Struggle to Put Food on the Table Due to A Lack of Resources, and Many Lack Equitable Access to Grocery Options Check it out and give him a follow! www.dcfpi.org/all/30000-di...

I'm going to be testifying later today at 2 pm in front of the Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Policy about tax policy next year. A quick thread walking through my testimony and some my favorite charts. www.banking.senate.gov/hearings

We already knew the push to cut taxes for the wealthy next year was going to be costly. Now we're learning that deep cuts to critical programs are on the agenda to help pay for them. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

My quote from the article

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute is seeking a Deputy Director/ Director of Economic Policy to help manage and advance our ambitious liberatory economic policy research and advocacy agenda. This position will report to me. Please share and apply! www.dcfpi.org/about/jobs-i...