Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
The Council takes up its first of two votes on the FY 2026 budget this coming Monday. On Thursday, I shared with my colleagues my perspective about the work ahead of us during our final deliberations, and today I want to share my thinking directly with you as well.
The FY 2026 budget is one of the most challenging budgets in recent years. The difficult decisions before us are the result of a shift in economic winds caused by mass federal layoffs and a sluggish post-COVID recovery that have reduced the revenue available to the District in the FY 2026 budget.
The Mayor has chosen to respond to these pressures by proposing that we dismantle the District’s environmental accomplishments; strip or reduce critical health care, housing, and paid leave programs; and undermine the Council’s efforts to invest in children, families, and caregivers. There is no doubt that we must look for ways to grow the District economy over the next few years. The question before us, though, is whether our efforts to do so must leave so many of our most vulnerable neighbors with nowhere to turn.
I believe that we can and must choose a different path. By taking a modest step to counteract the massive structural advantages that the wealthiest of neighbors enjoy in the federal tax code, we can raise the revenue required to avoid many of the most devastating cuts.
