Child-care workers and families relying on subsidized care in Washington won't see their benefits slashed this fall. The D.C. Council's $21.8 billion fiscal 2027 budget takes effect Oct. 1 without Mayor Muriel Bowser's signature, preserving programs the mayor had targeted for cuts.
The Council voted unanimously to restore roughly $450 million Bowser proposed cutting, including $61.5 million for the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and an additional $50 million for the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income families afford child care, according to a policy analysis of the enacted budget. The budget also allocates $184.1 million to partially restore D.C.'s paid family leave program, setting medical leave at 10 weeks and family care leave at six weeks.
The programs survive.
But Bowser, in a July 28 letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, warned the spending plan relies on one-time revenue. Choosing "to fund recurring programs with one-time money is setting up the next Mayor and Council with an $837 million fiscal cliff," she wrote.
The mayor's concern isn't abstract. The Council funded the restorations primarily through more than $400 million in revenue from D.C.'s decoupling from parts of the federal tax code and a $150 million draw from the city's Fiscal Stabilization Reserve. District CFO Glen Lee initially warned he could declare the budget unbalanced but ultimately certified it after the Council directed that the first excess revenues replenish the reserve. The city will maintain 62 days of cash reserves, just above the 60-day best-practice benchmark.
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, who said he was unsurprised the budget went unsigned, told the Georgetowner: "[Bowser] put a budget in front of us that cut millions from people and working families that needed it."
This is the second consecutive budget Bowser has declined to sign. She also left the fiscal 2025 budget unsigned, calling it "unsustainable." Both took effect with the Council's restorations intact.
The budget also narrows the per-pupil funding gap between D.C. Public Schools and public charter schools by 30%, setting per-student foundation funding at $15,648 and generating $15.7 million in additional formula funding for charters.
What comes next
Democratic mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George, who won the June 16 primary with 54.1% of the vote, called Bowser's proposed cuts "irresponsible" and said the refusal to sign does not reflect the unified leadership the District needs right now. Lewis George emphasized she would not have implemented the child-care or paid leave reductions Bowser proposed.
Mendelson warned that the mayor's public criticism could invite congressional interference, writing that it "gives succor to our detractors in Congress." Because D.C. lacks statehood, the locally enacted budget must clear a 30-day congressional review before taking effect. Republicans in Congress continue working to constrain the District's tax policies and financial autonomy.
The Council plans hearings this fall to address the funding gaps Bowser flagged, though no dates have been announced. The $837 million question for the next administration: whether to find permanent revenue for child care, paid leave and other restored programs, or let them expire when the one-time money runs out.
