Chairman Phil Mendelson

Are D.C. railways secure? The Council asked and EMS answered.– Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who hosted the hearing and led the questioning on rail security, asked if the city’s emergency agencies know how often CSX conducts security drills. [The Washington Post]

DC Statehood Hearing Will Feature Mix of Officials And Experts – A witness list released by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee includes two panels, one consisting of nonvoting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Democrats all. [The Washington Post]

DC Anti-Truancy Program is Getting More Kids to School – Phil Mendelson (D), chairman of the D.C. Council, said that the city is shifting its approach to addressing truancy. “In the past, we’ve treated it as something wrong, to be punished,” he said, noting that it instead should be something that “tells us that something is going on.” [The Washington Post]

An Interview with Phil Mendelson, Chairman, DC City Council – “I see my role as the chair of the legislative branch, the co-equal branch of government.”  [The Georgetown Dish]

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“Congressman Massie should not be amending the District’s gun control laws without knowing what he is doing,” said DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson after today’s vote to block enforcement of four gun laws dating back to 2008.  “While it is clear that Mr. Massie wants to eliminate gun control in the Nation’s Capital, his amendment is poorly drafted and hurts everybody – from Second Amendment advocates to law Continue Reading

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Understandably, I am disappointed that the Mayor has chosen to veto the Budget Support Act and two sections of the Budget Request Act, relying on legal arguments that would eviscerate Council authority over the budget.   Although he has tried to spin this action in the best light, a careful reading of his letter reveals two issues: (1) restoration of streetcar funding over tax cuts; and (2) objection to limitations on the Mayor’s unilateral ability to spend.

The streetcar program is already well-funded.  The Council’s budget has $587 million dedicated for streetcars, although the Council did adjust out-year funding to more sustainable levels.  The $587 million is far more than the government has been able to spend to date.

The tax cuts are broad, and will be eliminated by the veto.  When fully implemented, the average resident will pay hundreds of dollars less in Continue Reading