D.C. Budget Crisis

Congress has blown a hole in the District’s budget by failing to renew key provisions that allowed D.C. to responsibly use its own local funds. This failure puts essential public services at risk—sanitation, public safety, health care, and more—and directly threatens AFSCME jobs. 

If left unaddressed, this manufactured crisis will deal a devastating blow to city operations, public schools, infrastructure, and the quality of life for everyone who lives and works in the District. AFSCME District Council 20 is a strong union. We’re standing up for D.C., for the services our communities rely on, and for the public workers who keep this city running. 

Public Service workers are facing furloughs, hiring freezes, and the looming threat of layoffs—even as they continue to serve on the front lines. 

Every D.C. resident will feel the impact: longer lines, reduced services, cuts to community programs, and decreased city sanitation.

Khea Chambers, a 14-year bus attendant for D.C. Public Schools and AFSCME member spoke to the impact potential cuts would have on her students with disabilities. “It would be devastating. The kids would be forgotten about. They would be left behind. Especially my kids with unique needs.”

S. 1077 is a common-sense fix. It restores D.C.’s authority to use its locally raised revenue—without political interference—and helps close the gap caused by Congressional inaction. This crisis was manufactured—and it can be reversed. 

We need urgency. We need action. We need Congress to pass S. 1077—now.