We, the members of the Fair Budget Coalition, are acutely aware of the District of Columbia’s difficult financial situation. We know that there is a large budget gap, and we know that, like D.C.’s low-income residents, the District government only has room in its budget for the bare necessities. With those realities in mind, the Fair Budget Coalition engaged in difficult and painful analysis to determine which programs make up the bare minimum of a safety net that will allow residents to meet their most basic needs while continuing to move towards economic self-sufficiency. In contrast to years past, we have narrowed our list of funding recommendations to only seven programs. The Fiscal Year 2012 funding recommendations in this report are literally the barest minimum [...]

Stable housing is at the base of an effective safety net. Not only is adequate shelter essential to survival in the heat of summer and the cold of winter, it is essential for self-sufficiency. Housing impacts every aspect of a person’s life. Stable housing allows people to sustain the sleep and hygiene levels necessary to find and maintain employment, and it allows children to be well-rested when they arrive at school and to focus on their homework when they get home. Families can afford more nutritious food when they have a secure place to store bulk food purchases. In order to survive the current economic downturn without falling backwards as a city, we need to fund emergency, life-saving services for individuals, families, and youth who [...]

A robust and dynamic workforce is contingent on a strong foundation of work support programs. Effective work support programs not only help residents develop and acquire the skills and education needed to secure and retain jobs that provide a pathway to self-sufficiency, but also support the activity of work by reducing the barriers that prevent individuals from fully participating in the workforce. These supports can help working families close the gap between low earnings and meeting their basic needs. The two programs outlined below provide critical support to the workforce. The first, Adult Education and Family Literacy, helps prepare individuals for work, and the second, the Child Care Subsidy, helps low-income workers meet their family responsibilities while working.

Public income support programs provide supplemental income to low-income workers and families while they work towards becoming self-sufficient. For those who are unable to participate in the workforce, including individuals with disabilities or low-income elderly, income support programs help provide some degree of economic stability. These programs help to reduce the negative effects of poverty on children and families, and they are an investment in intergenerational economic security and stability, as well as in the health and education of District workers, children and elders. The two programs detailed below impact the two types of populations that income support programs serve: Interim Disability Assistance for those who are physically unable to work, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for individuals transitioning from welfare to work.

The Fair Budget Coalition believes that new revenues must be part of the response to D.C.’s ongoing fiscal crisis. Leveraging new federal funds, while important, is unlikely to solve more than a small fraction of the budget gap. Without increases in D.C.’s own revenues, the cuts that would be needed to close the budget gap would likely put many of the District’s lowest-income families in a precarious situation. Budget cuts to date already have: limited D.C.’s ability to address its affordable housing shortfall; reduced access to emergency rental or utility assistance; and cut income assistance to families with children, grandparents raising grandchildren, and residents with disabilities. The Fair Budget Coalition supports revenue increases that would reflect best practices in tax policy and that would target [...]