Virginia Bennis - Andy Supporter
The District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act of 2012, passed through voter referendum in 2013, represented an important step forward for the low-income women in D.C. that depend on Medicaid. The Act placed budgetary approval for the District squarely in the hands of local government, providing D.C. with the same flexibility in constructing and administering its Medicaid programs that is typically granted to states. Prior to its adoption, D.C.’s status as a federal district, as opposed to a state, meant that each year, D.C.’s budget was subject to congressional approval, resulting in an annual game of political ping-pong that has placed the reproductive health of women in D.C. at the mercy of legislators from other states, who often exploit their authority over the District during contentious negotiations, or as a propaganda tool for reelection.
In particular, the Budget Autonomy Act was poised to give local government some measure of protection over discriminatory legislation like the Hyde amendment, an appropriations rider introduced annually every year since 1976 that disproportionately affects low-income women of color by preventing federal Medicaid funds from being used to fund abortion. Through the Budget Autonomy Act, D.C. would have been given the same fiscal authority as states, whose autonomy allows them to circumvent the Hyde amendment by assigning state-apportioned Medicaid funds to cover the restricted items.
In a recent development, however, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision released January 30, 2014, declared that the District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 had “no legal effect.” The GAO decision, which is nonbinding and has no legal effect on its own, was requested, unsurprisingly, by Representative Ander Crenshaw [R-Fla.], an outspoken anti-choice conservative with a long history of voting to defund women’s health initiates, who is also Chairman to the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government House Committee on Appropriations. Despite its non-binding status, Mayor Gray has not opposed the decision. It seems, in fact, he yielded to the GAO decision almost immediately, stating that he was “not surprised” and “intend[s] to comply,” with the GAO interpretation of federal law on the same day the decision was released. D.C.’s non-voting congressional representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, on the other hand, vowed to defend the Budget Autonomy Referendum:
“Notwithstanding legal and political questions that have been raised, I will continue to work to head off any congressional efforts to block or overturn the referendum or to penalize the District for pursuing the referendum […] While GAO opinions are certainly well respected in Congress, they have no legal effect. What is most clear is the need, desire and momentum for congressional action for full budget autonomy.”
For Andy Shallal, the GAO decision means that D.C. has lost a battle, but not the war. Andy recognizes the clear need for safe, affordable access to contraception and abortion in D.C. He stands with Congresswoman Norton, and is committed to a future that includes an autonomous city budget. At the same time, however, Andy Shallal recognizes that the only way to ensure that the women of D.C. can fight legislation like the Hyde amendment is through full-fledged D.C. statehood and the voting congressional representation that comes with it. The United States was founded on the principle that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, after all—and yet, for women residing in D.C., the question remains: how can we provide consent when we do not have a voice?
Virginia is a resident of Columbia Heights. She holds an MA in International Law and Public Policy from the American University of Paris, as well as a Certificate of International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. Presently, her policy interests include women's issues, immigrant rights, and DC statehood.