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DC residents are facing high inflation and many are still struggling economically following pandemic job loss, but the Committee on Housing, which I chair, started with a budget proposal from the Mayor that cut deeply into the District's social safety net. Right now, residents need more affordable housing, more rental assistance, and more support to avoid eviction.
That’s why, over the last several weeks, I met one-on-one with fellow Councilmembers to see if they could repurpose any funding from their committees' budgets to help fill in the gaps in the housing and human services budget. Working together, we have expanded safety nets and developed tools to prevent homelessness and housing instability. We have more work to do before the Council passes the final fiscal year 2024 budget for the city, but I’m proud of what my team and I accomplished with Committee colleagues in our Committee budget proposal.
Preventing Evictions and Reinforcing the Social Safety Net
In particular, I heard from residents distressed with the proposed cuts to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), from $43 million this year (and this amount ran out after six months) to $8 million in FY2024. This program helps people with limited incomes catch up on their rent in order to avoid eviction. I'm grateful to my colleagues, Councilmembers Allen, Nadeau, Lewis George, and Henderson, who helped identify $6.3 million dollars from their committees to help reverse some of the cuts to ERAP. This is still not enough, but it is a start, and I will keep working to get more funding before we pass the final budget. This funding keeps people out of homelessness and prevents displacement.
The Housing Committee added funding for the Emergency Housing Assistance Program, which helps tenants when their homes burn down or are shut down. My committee also expanded Project Reconnect, which reunites people experiencing homelessness with family or friends and provides financial assistance in order to help them avoid the shelter system. Increasing funding for these programs will help reduce evictions and keep people in housing.
The Committee on Housing also saved two staff positions at the Office of the Tenant Advocate so they can continue outreach to tenants who may need help and provide legal representation.
Our proposed budget secures funding for my Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act, which will create a free Master's in Social Work program for District residents. This pivotal investment will allow residents to serve in their own communities in efforts to get people who are homeless into housing, preventing violent crime, and filling the many vacant mental health positions in our public schools. This bill will establish a Master’s in Social Work program at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and creates a scholarship to make Master’s in Social Work and Master’s in Counseling degrees free at UDC for District residents and people working in DC. The bill will build the workforce pipeline we need by requiring scholarship recipients to work for a District school, government agency, or health care provider organization for a minimum of two years after receiving their degree and their license.
Reforming the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) with More Transparency and Accountability
We’re adding transparency and accountability at DCHA with an annual independent financial audit. Despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from DC taxpayers, right now this quasi-independent agency does not disclose to residents much of their spending and operations. This Committee legislation will change that. Residents also have been frustrated by outlandish executive bonuses while the agency struggles to operate. We will impose the same limitations on DCHA bonuses that apply to other DC agencies as a measure of accountability. With these legislative steps, I’m aiming to build the public’s trust.
Funding Civil Rights Legislation
We also funded important work advancing human and civil rights that will allow the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Act, which I introduced and got passed last year, as well as the historic Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act, which the Council passed at the end of 2022, to go into effect.
Additionally, the Committee on Housing restored funding to support survivors of domestic violence and transgender and gender non-conforming young adults. We also funded 20 housing vouchers for returning citizens to reduce the pipeline of people returning home from incarceration and landing in a homeless shelter. And we funded services to expand support for the needs of people with disabilities through the Interim Disability Assistance Program, which provides temporary monetary assistance to adults with disabilities.
Supporting Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs)
Finally, the Committee bolstered support for ANCs by funding Commissioners' teleconferencing accounts, email licenses, and websites. We also covered the costs of critical behind-the-scenes operations at the Office of ANCs, including accounting software and human resources services.
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