D.C. Council approves nearly $22 billion budget, reverses proposed housing and child-care cuts
The D.C. Council approved a nearly $22 billion fiscal 2027 budget on June 23, reversing many of the cuts proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, including reductions affecting housing vouchers and child-care programs.
The plan also uses one-time funds, including reserves, to close budget gaps. In a separate tax-policy move, the District decoupled its local tax code from President Donald Trump’s federal tax law, a change expected to generate additional revenue for the budget.
The vote sets the District’s spending and service priorities for the coming fiscal year, including whether residents retain access to housing assistance and child-care supports. It comes as the city faces higher costs and weaker revenue projections.
Housing and child-care cuts reversed
The approved budget reverses many reductions included in the mayor’s proposal. The affected areas include the District’s housing-voucher program and child-care programs, both of which had faced proposed cuts during the budget process.
The source material does not provide the final dollar amounts preserved for each housing-voucher or child-care program. It also does not establish that the programs are permanently protected: some of the spending gap is being addressed with one-time money rather than recurring revenue.
For residents who rely on those programs, the council’s action means the approved plan does not carry forward many of the reductions proposed by the mayor. The precise impact on individual benefits, eligibility or service levels cannot be determined from the available budget reporting.
Tax change adds revenue but prompts future review
The council’s budget decouples the District’s tax code from the federal tax law signed under President Trump. That change allows the District to generate additional revenue for its local budget rather than automatically following the federal tax treatment.
Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee had previously opposed the decoupling. He later dropped that opposition, clearing the way for the tax change to be included in the budget plan.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson committed to holding a public hearing in fall 2026 to evaluate tax proposals. That hearing is a scheduled future review, not a final decision on additional tax changes.
One-time funds and federal approval
The council used reserves and other one-time funds to close budget gaps. That approach helps balance the fiscal 2027 plan, but it does not by itself establish a permanent source of funding for the services restored or preserved in the budget.
The approved plan is not yet the end of the District’s budget process. Its federal portion still faces the District’s federal-approval process. Council budget materials describe the federal and local portions separately and explain the process for submitting the federal portion to the president and Congress.
The available sources do not provide a precise timeline for federal review and approval. They also do not show that Congress has approved the District’s federal portion. The budget’s local decisions and the federal process therefore remain distinct steps.
For Washington residents, the June 23 action is the council’s central spending decision for fiscal 2027. It restores many proposed housing and child-care reductions while relying partly on temporary funding and a change in local tax policy. The next known steps are the federal review of the budget’s federal portion and Mendelson’s planned fall 2026 public hearing on tax proposals.
Sources
- D.C. Council approves budget reversing Bowser cuts to housing vouchers and childcare, The Washington Post
- FY 2026 Budget, D.C. Council Office of the Budget Director
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