Letter of Support: ‘Local Funds Act of 2025’ Protects DC’s Authority to Spend Locally Raised Revenue
About this Letter of Support: Greater Washington Board of Trade President & CEO Jack McDougle submitted testimony to the United States House of Representatives showing strong support for the District of Columbia Local Funds Act of 2025 (S. 1077), a bipartisan bill that protects D.C.’s authority to spend its locally raised revenue, without cost to the federal government. Passage of this legislation is essential to preventing a $1.1 billion budget shortfall and ensuring continued funding for core public services that underpin the economic health of the District and the entire metropolitan region. The following testimony outlines the business community’s position and the critical importance of timely congressional action.
Dear Mr. Speaker (Mike Johnson) and Representative Hakeem Jefferies,
On behalf of the Greater Washington Board of Trade — representing the business community of the D.C. metropolitan region since 1889 — I write to express our strong support for the District of Columbia Local Funds Act of 2025 (S. 1077).
This bipartisan legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously on March 14, affirms D.C.’s authority to spend its locally raised revenues and averts an immediate $1.1 billion budget shortfall. It is essential to sustaining the economic stability of the District and the broader regional economy. We urge the House to pass this bill without delay.
The District raises the vast majority of its revenue independently—there is no cost to the federal government. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office confirms that S. 1077 has no impact on the federal budget. What it does do is allow the District to implement its Fiscal Year 2025 budget, which Congress already approved through continuing resolutions in September and December (P.L. 118-83 and P.L. 118-158).
These funds are critical to the operation of public services and infrastructure that underpin D.C.’s and the region’s economic health — transportation, public safety, healthcare, education, and more. Without them, the resulting budget gap would ripple across the region, weakening consumer confidence, shrinking business revenue, and putting jobs at risk. The impact wouldn’t stop at the District’s borders — it would affect the entire regional economy, including D.C.’s 700,000 residents and the nearly 26 million visitors who came to the nation’s capital last year.
From retail and real estate to hospitality and professional services, businesses across sectors would feel the blow. Abrupt cuts at this scale would increase costs, slow investment, and threaten the momentum of recovery and growth – especially needed as efforts continue to transform the federal government.
We fully support the importance of fiscal responsibility, including reducing the national debt. But for over two decades, every continuing resolution has included language allowing D.C. to spend its own locally passed, balanced budget. This year should be no different.
Economic strength in the Greater Washington region is not just a local issue — it’s a matter of national importance. Congress must give the District the certainty it needs to manage its finances and sustain the services that drive this region forward.
We respectfully urge you to support S. 1077, and we stand ready to work with you to keep our region strong, stable, and growing.
Sincerely,
Jack McDougle
President & CEO
Greater Washington Board of Trade
See Additional Testimonies and Letters of Support we have submitted recently:
Testimony to DC Council: Workforce Strategies Must Support Economic Growth and Resilience
Letter to Congress: Addressing Concerns with House Concurrent Resolution 14
Testimony: Submitted to DC Council, Committee on Business & Economic Development
Congress Should Preserve DC’s Home Rule and Withdraw the Bowser Act | WBJ Viewpoint
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