WASHINGTON — Mayor Muriel Bowser briefed members of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee about the improvements the District has made regarding crime and the city's use of federal funding.
"The state of the nation's capital is strong, and today it is my hope that we will talk about our shared priorities to make our nation's capital even stronger," Bowser said during her opening remarks.
Tuesday's visit to Capitol Hill marks nearly 15 years since a D.C. mayor has testified before that subcommittee. It also comes at a time that D.C.'s self-governance is being threatened by the incoming Trump administration.
Bowser was accompanied by the Chairman of the D.C. Council, Phil Mendelson and the city's Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee.
Bower discussed the complexities of running a District with congressional oversight and touted the economic status of the nation's capital.
"Our finances are strong. We have balanced 29 consecutive budgets," she added.
Questioning quickly turned to discuss public safety ahead of the 2025 inauguration. Bowser assured members of Congress that the District is prepared to undertake the massive event.
"People are still concerned about the level of crime here in the city. While we have that decline, last year was the District's deadliest in more than two decades. It's down but it's still unacceptably high, " Rep. Ashely Hinson (R) of Iowa said. The Republican referenced 2023 police data that shows there were 274 homicides in the nation's capital.
"Any level of violence in our city is unacceptable," Bowser responded and cited the most recent police data that indicates that violent crime is down in the city by 35% compared to last year, and 17% compared to 2019.
The latest police numbers indicate there have been 182 homicides so far this year in D.C.
"Violent crime is coming down. Unfortunately, a challenge with crime is that when there is word that a place is unsafe, it takes a long time to overcome that if even the statistics show that crime is down significantly," Mendelson added.
Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) who chairs the subcommittee addressed immigration during his opening statements and then asked Bowser if she believed non-citizens should have the ability to vote in the District's local elections.
Non-citizens were able to vote in local elections for the first time this year in D.C.
"The Council has passed the bill," Bowser responded. She says there are immigrants who are long-time D.C. residents who have legal work permits including those with Temporary Protected Status who should have a pathway to citizenship. "Those residents participating in a local election makes our process better," she added.
Bowser repeatedly pushed for what she called a, "centralized policy that makes sense" regarding the return of the federal workforce back to the office. She testified that locally, her government has returned to in-person work. "We have 37,000 employees in the District of Columbia. They came back to work in June following the pandemic. We have a four-day, in-person per week policy."
Some members of Congress including Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas) echoed Bowser's concerns about the impact on D.C.'s local economy without federal workers and contractors coming into the office.