Norton Relieved that D.C. Budget Priorities Escape National Budget Crunch
Press Release
Norton Relieved that D.C. Budget Priorities Escape National Budget Crunch
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that she was relieved to find the
District's top priorities in the President's budget, beginning with almost $473 million for the construction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters on the west campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Anacostia, an increase of $126 million over FY 2008 funding. Also included for the District: $35 million for the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG), the program that enables D.C. students to receive up to $10,000 annually to attend any state university in the country; $5 million for a new D.C. crime and forensic lab; $224 million for the D.C. courts, which fall under federal jurisdiction; $48 million for Public Defender Services; and $7 million for D.C. libraries. The President's budget again recognizes the critical role D.C. law enforcement plays during national demonstrations and events, proposing $15 million to reimburse the city for emergency planning and security costs that will be critical because of inauguration planning.
Norton said, "I held my breath on this year's budget because of the number of must-haves that were necessary, particularly DHS and DCTAG, not to mention other necessary priorities that were at risk considering cuts in national programs. Unfortunately for the District and the rest of the country, we will lose many millions more than we receive if Congress is not able to shore up the big cuts in vital national programs, among them Medicare, Medicaid, and energy assistance."
Also funded was a Norton environmental priority, $14 million for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority to tackle the District's combined sewer overflow and Anacostia River pollution, a $2 million increase over 2008. Norton said the $20 million for school reform was especially welcome.
Norton got the funding for DHS through Congress last year, but Congress removed the funding because of a dispute with the President over the omnibus bill. She expects the DHS funding to remain this year to jumpstart the revitalization of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Ward 8, but has a fallback plan if it does not.
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