February 27, 2023

Dear Angela,

Budget season is getting underway at the Council! First, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has already contacted me to share what is important for you to see funded in the fiscal year 2024 budget. In this email I'll share some of the top priorities I requested funding for in my recent budget letter to Mayor Bowser. These priorities span housing, community safety, education, and more. Take a look, below. And you can access my full letter to the Mayor here.

In the coming months, the Mayor will release her proposed FY 2024 budget and the Council will hold several rounds of hearings, so there will be many opportunities coming up for you to make your voice heard and weigh in. I'll regularly share opportunities for public input on my social media channels, so keep an eye out! And please know that your opinion is an incredibly valuable part of this process.

Sincerely, 

Robert 

My Top FY2024 Funding Requests of Mayor Bowser

Housing

District residents are struggling to find affordable housing. We need to get our public housing into safe, dignified, and habitable condition, and we can do so much more to keep people housed with rent assistance, vouchers, and developing housing for extremely low-income residents.

• $100 million dollars per year over five years for public housing to provide the significant, predictable funding needed for overdue repairs and get the 1,600+ units that are currently uninhabitable back on-line for residents who need them
• $117 million for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program
• Additional investments in DC's Local Rent Supplement Program to ensure that at least half of the funds disbursed to developers building affordable housing through the Housing Production Trust Fund support housing for extremely low-income residents
• More housing vouchers set aside for seniors

Early Childhood

Our children deserve a strong start in life. These investments in our early childhood education will be gamechangers for parents, childcare providers, and generations of District children.

• Provide funding in the financial plan to begin phasing in childcare subsidies for families to reach Universal Child Care by 2028
• $14.5 million to increase pay for childcare program directors

Education & Workforce Development

It's no mystery what we must do to improve District public schools. Parents, teachers, students, staff, and administrators have told us: Solve teacher retention and get serious about mental and behavioral health support in schools. I believe that these investments will help us get there.

• Address DC's mental health crisis and expand career paths by funding the Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act. This bill creates a scholarship making it free for DC residents and employees to earn a Master's in Social Work or Master's in Counseling degree from the University of the District of Columbia. By building the workforce pipeline, we can fill vacant positions at DC Public Schools (DCPS), end encampments by having enough case workers to tackle the housing voucher backlog, and connect people with the mental health support they need
• $25 million for before/after-school and summer programs to increase pay for teachers, school staff, college students, and community organizations to run programs and to expand access to scholarships, vouchers, and financial aid 
• Continued funding, at $750,000 per school, to support the teacher wellness pilot programs funded in last year's budget and boost the District's poor teacher retention rates
• Funding to ensure social workers are incentivized to work in the District of Columbia Public Schools's School-Based Behavioral Health program by offering competitive salaries
• Increased funding for job and apprenticeship opportunities for high school-aged students to expand year-round employment opportunities and provide deeper experiences that offer a meaningful career path

Community Safety & Criminal Justice Equity 

You deserve to feel safe in your neighborhood and while moving around the city. These funding requests tackle the root causes of violence and support people returning from prison in finding housing and stability so they can break the cycle of crime.

• Funding to expand training and increase pay and benefits for violence interrupters to ensure they have adequate resources and support, and are treated like the serious public safety programs they are
• Expand small grant programs to support homegrown community-based organizations that develop relationships and connections with young people
• Increased funding to equitably expand access to high-quality drug treatment programs and $15 million for two 24-hour harm reduction centers
• Additional funds for housing vouchers dedicated to returning citizens and support for returning citizens as they seek housing

Advancing Justice & Equality for Residents

The DC government has an important role to play in making sure residents, like you, have equal access to opportunity and justice. These budget requests will fund a variety of programs as well as the implementation of bills passed by the Council to ensure equal rights.

• $9.4 million to fully fund Medicaid and DC Department of Behavioral Health programs so residents can access a variety of mental and behavioral health supports in their communities
• $740,000 in the first year and $2.5 million over the financial plan to fully fund the Domestic Workers Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022, which would put domestic workers on equal footing with other workers in the District and end their exclusion from workplace and worker protections
• $200,000 in recurring funds to support the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center

Ensuring the Government Works for Residents

You deserve to see public benefits from your taxpayer dollars. My budget requests in this area would both fund community programs and also invest in the necessary oversight and accountability for DC government to be even smarter and more responsible with how we spend taxpayer money.

• Continue funding the Public Restroom Facilities Installation and Promotion Act of 2018 to ensure that public restroom installations begin this calendar year
• Adequate funding to transform the Crummell School into a community center that fully meets the needs identified through robust community input
• $1.1 million in FY 2024 to fully fund the Procurement Agencies Alignment Act of 2022, which requires training for DC agencies responsible for contracts and procurement and mandates an annual audit of the Department of General Services’ procurements — improving transparency around how taxpayer dollars are spent and helping local businesses identify opportunities for partnerships with the DC government

Need To Reach Me Or A Member Of My Team?

My office is available to you. Connect with me and my staff via phone or email. Please call my personal office at (202) 724-8174, or my committee office at (202) 727-8270, or email any of my team members. If you have a moment, please take my 3-question constituent survey here.

  PERSONAL OFFICE STAFF

Robert White | Councilmember | rwhite@dccouncil.gov

Angela Fowlkes | Chief of Staff | afowlkes@dccouncil.gov

Katie Whitehouse | Legislative Director | kwhitehouse@dccouncil.gov

Andre Strickland | Constituent Services Director | astrickland@dccouncil.gov

Devon Haynes | Communications Director | dhaynes@dccouncil.gov

Lisa Wright | Legislative Assistant | lwright@dccouncil.gov

Sam Walden | Office Manager | swalden@dccouncil.gov

HOUSING COMMITTEE STAFF

Shawn Hilgendorf | Committee Director | shilgendorf@dccouncil.gov

Sean Cuddihy | Deputy Committee Director | scuddihy@dccouncil.gov

Neah Evering | Legislative Counsel | nevering@dccouncil.gov

Caitlin Cocilova | Legislative Counsel | ccocilova@dccouncil.gov