(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Bowser issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the House’s Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Services and General Government funding bill:
“Once again, this House has demonstrated that elections matter and signaled that it is finally time to respect DC’s right to self-government and fully recognize our budget autonomy. By removing riders that have prevented us from spending our local funds according to DC values, this bill will enable us to increase access to reproductive health care for low-income women in DC and also move forward with legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana.
“I am grateful to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for her tremendous leadership on behalf of District residents and for ensuring that critical programs like DC TAG were fully funded. As this proposal moves through Congress, we look to the DC Council to move forward with the Safe Cannabis Sales Act so that, together, we can realize the will of DC voters.”
The bill removes several previous riders that intruded on District of Columbia home rule:
- Eliminates a ban on the use of local funds for abortion services
- Eliminates a ban on the use of local funds to commercialize recreational marijuana
- Eliminates a provision appropriating local District funds