Category: Advocacy

By Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation; Joshua Drumming, Staff Attorney; and Charisse Lue, Staff Attorney On July 28, D.C.’s FY 2026 budget process concluded. From the start, the budget season was riddled with delays and extensions caused by a series of local and congressional budget actions. Unfortunately, the mayor’s proposed budget left much to be desired. Once again, it underfunded or failed to fund critical housing resources and programs within the Department of Human Services (DHS), setting up another fiscal year in which D.C.’s lowest-income residents have to split inequitable investments. Like last year, those who need… Read more…

On Monday, July 14, the D.C. Council will take its first vote on our local budget and many legal changes that will impact the lives of D.C. residents. As we discussed here, the mayor’s budget proposal was regressive and harmful, hardly befitting a city where the vast majority of residents support progressive and humane economic and social policies. The Council has already reversed some of these harmful proposals, but when it comes to responding to the ever-growing gap between household income and the cost of rent, both branches of government are failing D.C. residents, particularly those who are homeless or at… Read more…

There is still time for D.C. Council to mitigate the harm of the mayor’s budget and ensure that the final budget “looks like” D.C. We must continue to urge D.C. government to prioritize the basic needs of its residents and elevate the policies, resources, and investments that keep people safe and protected in all aspects of their life. Read more…

2025 Funding and Reform Priorities: D.C. Must Choose to Support Its People Over the years, we have seen two categories of harmful responses when D.C. elected leaders claim, rightfully or not, that there are not enough resources to meet the pressing needs in the community: 1) cuts or underfunding of housing and human services programs, and 2) tightening of eligibility or reduction in legal rights of participants in those programs. Both of those responses reduce the number of people served without reducing the number of people in need of services, causing harm to D.C. residents. This year and budget season,… Read more…

April 23, 2025 Honorable Muriel Bowser Mayor of the District of Columbia John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20004 Cc: D.C. Council RE: President Trump’s “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” Executive Order Dear Mayor Bowser, As organizations dedicated to justice, civil rights, housing security, and the autonomy of Washington, D.C., we strongly oppose President Trump’s executive order, which threatens the District’s Home Rule, public safety, immigrant communities, housing rights, and civil liberties. This order is a thinly veiled attempt to impose federal control over the District of Columbia, disregarding the will of its… Read more…