Congress may block DC government from spending its own money

[KamaAina]

1. But wait! There's more!

Even though the District government gets roughly three-quarters of its $13 billion budget from local funds, Congress treats it like a federal agency, which means it can't start spending the money until it gets the OK from Capitol Hill.

That requirement was spelled out in the 1973 bill that gave District residents the power to elect their own mayor and council. City leaders tried to change it through a novel legal strategy, putting a referendum on the ballot to amend the city charter. The referendum was approved overwhelmingly in 2013. It was challenged in court, but after a judge ruled in the city's favor earlier this year, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city would no longer submit its budget to Congress. A separate legal challenge is still spending (sic).

The arcane issue of how and when the city can spend its money is a big deal to advocates of self-rule, who see Congressional review as an unnecessary intrusion into local affairs. The city government has been forced to close during federal shutdowns even though it had plenty of money to continue operating.