Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
You may have heard rumblings this week that Congress is—yet again—threatening DC’s autonomy and dollars. A bill introduced and passed through committee in the House of Representatives would fundamentally undermine our fiscal autonomy, mandating Congressional approval of any changes to fees or taxes in the District. This would complicate even attempts to lower taxes or issue tax abatements for positive development projects. Stunningly, DoorDash—a private company that runs a delivery app enjoying ever-increasing profit margins and benefiting off of District residents and businesses—lobbied Congress in support of this legislation.
DoorDash says it’s because of recent Council action, where we instituted a $0.20 fee per delivery in order to fund critical food access programs, especially for residents East of the River. While my team met with DoorDash to hear their concerns before the Council approved this change and I understand their disagreements, I still believe that a nominal fee to ensure that vulnerable neighbors have food access is a worthy measure.
But the truth is, this isn’t about the Council’s actions or the merits of the $0.20 fee. It’s about DC Home Rule and our right to self-governance. While DoorDash claims to fully support Home Rule, the truth is simple: you can’t have it both ways. Either DoorDash fully supports Home Rule or they are lobbying Congress to undermine our autonomy (and they are). It can’t be both. Reasonable people can disagree about policy, but we should all agree that decisions about DC should be made by DC, not Congress.
