‘Darrell Issa – Caricature’
courtesy of ‘DonkeyHotey’
The news broke yesterday that Congressman Darrel Issa (R-CA) was interested in granting the District greater autonomy to spend their own budgeted funds as soon as they’re allocated, instead of spending a month or two in limbo while Congress votes to approve or disapprove the funding, so long as the District does not spend that money on abortion for residents. Is it worth it to trade a small measure of autonomy for a larger one?
It’s certainly hard not to consider increased autonomy a boon to the District, when with it comes the ability to better control its spending, without having to wait on Congress to say yes. It would also bring the Hyde Amendment to DC as policy, despite that local revenues were being used for the abortions that were later stripped out of the budget when the President used DC as a bartering chip this summer.
On one hand, this would give the city more permanent control, but placing restrictions on what should be rights has never been an attractive option for local politicians.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
