Joyce Remarks at Budget and Oversight Hearing for the District of Columbia’s FY25 Budget

I’d like to welcome Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia, Phil Mendelson, Chair of the Council of DC, and Glen Lee, DC’s Chief Financial Officer. I appreciate all of you participating in today’s hearing to give Members of the subcommittee the opportunity to discuss the District of Columbia’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, and exercise oversight over the city’s policies and funding. 

It has been nearly 15 years since the DC Mayor has testified before this subcommittee and 16 years since the Chair of the Council or the CFO testified.

It is my hope that we will use this conversation today as a starting point for continued dialogue and partnership. As chairman of this subcommittee, I have prioritized connecting with agencies under our jurisdiction to better understand their budget requests and their utilization of funds appropriated by Congress.

I intend to maintain the same standard with the city. 

So once again, it is good to have you all before the Committee today for what I intend to be a more regular meeting than once every 15 years. 

The District’s fiscal year 2025 budget request to Congress proposes $932 million for the District of Columbia, which is $142 million above the enacted level. 

Notably, $47 million of this increase is due to a need for more emergency preparedness funding for the upcoming Presidential Inauguration. As a member of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, I take emergency preparedness very seriously, particularly when it comes to protecting President-elect Trump and other political leaders. 

With that said, the request still represents a large increase in the District’s overall appropriation from Congress. So, I look forward to a specific dialogue today on the city’s budgetary needs to ensure a safe and smooth transition of power for President-elect Trump. 

In addition to funding, the House FSGG bill contains several general provisions that restrict the actions of the District. I am aware that there are provisions included in our bill – both new and longstanding – with which you disagree. 

While we may agree on the desire to review and modify one of these provisions in particular - the restriction on the regulation of cannabis and cannabis products in order to ensure the District has the authority to promote public safety – it is worth noting that each of these provisions are based on Member requests in response to serious concerns with actions taken, or not taken, by the District. Congress will continue to maintain its Constitutional authority and responsibility to exercise authority over the city’s laws and budget. 

Particularly over the last few years, this need for oversight has become more apparent. For example, we have included a provision to prohibit the city from allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. There is nothing more vital to the continuance of our democracy than free and fair elections. As such, the right to vote is - and must continue to be - reserved for U.S. citizens – and U.S. citizens only. Such a provision should not even be necessary, but unfortunately, due to the city’s actions to allow and promote non-citizen voting, it is. I look forward to further dialogue on that topic today. 

Additionally, I hope to have a robust conversation on the impact of the federal government’s telework policy on the District. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over funding for the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management, two agencies that oversee federal space and personnel policy. It has been a shared goal of many on this Committee, and I trust all the witnesses here today, to get our federal employees back to the office and ensure we are not throwing taxpayer dollars away by continuing to pay for unused space in federal buildings in DC. These telework policies have impacted our government in many ways, but they have had a particularly acute impact on the safety and economic stability of DC. 

Once again, thank you all for being here today. I look forward to the dialogue on these topics and more.