DC Government Escapes Shutdown, Calls for Autonomy

Congress struck a last-minute spending deal Monday, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown that would have forced the closure of many of the District's municipal services.

Though the agreement will provide for the continued funding of the federal government until Nov. 18, the threat of a shutdown raised concerns throughout the past week about what some see as an unfairly pronounced impact on D.C.'s daily operations from the ongoing federal budget negotiations.

The prospect of a District shutdown is one that the city is familiar with after Congress came close to missing its April 7 budget deadline earlier this year. Because D.C.'s budget is contingent on congressional approval, a federal government shutdown would mean the suspension of several important services, ranging from museum operations to trash collection.

In a Sept. 21 press release, Mayor Vincent Gray announced that his office was developing plans that would keep essential D.C. services available to residents in light of the potential shutdown.

"This unconscionable predicament we find ourselves in yet again is a reminder of the unfair treatment that the 600,000 citizens of the nation's capital suffer because we continue to be denied full democracy," Gray said in a press release.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is using this opportunity to argue for greater District autonomy from the federal government.

On Sept. 21, Norton introduced the District of Columbia Fiscal Year 2012 Local Funds Continuation Act to Congress. The bill would have permitted the District government to spend its own funds for the remainder of the fiscal year in the case of a shutdown.

Spokespeople for the Georgetown University College Democrats and Republicans alike criticized the federal government for its repeated failure to finalize the budget in recent months.

Scott Stirrett (SFS '13), chair of the student advocacy group D.C.. Students Speak, said that the shutdown crisis has pushed the city's bid for independence to the front of its political agenda.

"It is troubling that there is such a disproportionate impact on the District of Columbia," he said. "Events like this provide a lot of arguments for those in support of D.C. budget autonomy."