The Washington, D.C. Admission Act would grant the more than 700,000 residents of our nation’s capital a meaningful voice and a vote in Congress, both of which D.C. residents were denied on Jan. 6, 2021.
Kate Coventry from the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute also expressed how destroying communities such as the one in Truxton Circle can at times make it harder for unhoused people to find success.
Still, other speakers said more could be done to right the wrongs from the war on drugs. Doni Crawford, a policy analyst at DCFPI, suggested that tax revenue be used to provide direct cash payments to people and families impacted by drug arrests.
Doni Crawford, a senior policy analyst with DCFPI offered amendments to the bill, including a proposal to “devote all cannabis tax revenue” and licensing fees to community reinvestment & help for residents making the transition from previous incarceration…
Doni Crawford, Senior Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, said the social equity provisions written into Mendelson’s bill make it “arguably the best in the nation.”
The DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s (DCFPI) recently released toolkit, “The District Moves Towards a More Inclusive Economy” analyze how these investments will benefit Black workers and business owners in particular.
TOPA legislation was passed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and has led to the preservation of 1,400 affordable housing units between 2003-2013, a much more cost-effective option than building new units, according to a report from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.
“It’s not enough to force someone to take an apartment just because it’s free. You have to place people where they’re going to succeed instead of just pushing them into housing,” said Kate Coventry, an analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.
What we’re after, and what the lives and livelihoods of people of color depend on, is a tax system that embodies racial justice both in its design and in the public investments it provides.
DCFPI, a progressive think tank that has advocated for stricter oversight of the trust fund, says DC’s recent investments into affordable housing could help the housing department finally overcome historical challenges it has faced.