Press Releases

I’m honored to have been appointed by my colleagues as the chairperson of the Council’s Committee on Health. Although the District boasts very high rates of health insurance coverage, health inequities persist.

On Tuesday, the Council held its penultimate Legislative Meeting and final Committee of the Whole markup for Council Period 24. Any permanent bill that did not receive a vote yesterday will have to be reintroduced in 2023 for consideration.

I'm sure you've heard about the Council's vote on B24-416: Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (RCCA), which updates DC's Criminal Code. This was a task over 10 years in the making and follows recommendations by the DC Criminal Code Reform Commission. This was a necessary undertaking because our Criminal Code was created over 120 years ago by Congress. While there have been minor changes during this time, this bill represents the first full-scale revision since the code's creation in 1901. It is imperative that we make updates to bring our justice system into the 21st century.

We understand that DCPS has independent contracting and procurement authority, but we ask that DCPS formally request of the District’s Chief Procurement Officer that Rome Charters be added to the District’s Excluded Parties List to ensure that another DC government agency does not unknowingly contract with this company and face a similar problem. We acknowledge the difficulty that many firms across the country are having right now with recruiting drivers with commercial drivers’ licenses, but that is no excuse to continue to contract with companies with problematic performance records. Across District government, we have seen issues with agencies not properly documenting detailed contract performance reviews, which as you know, plays a significant role in the process for extending or awarding subsequent contracts in the future. We believe the severity of this incident rises to the level of DCPS taking this formal step.

This legislation would establish a pilot program with free fares for the X2 and 80 Metrobus lines. Metrobus provides a lifeline to for people who live along bus routes for communities with few alternative public transit options, providing critical transportation. Based on WMATA data, Metrobus riders overall are more likely than residents in the WMATA Compact Area to live in households without a car, live in households earning less than $30,000 annually, have limited English proficiency, and are more likely to be Black or Brown residents. Nearly 70% of Metrobus customers are frequent riders, riding busses 12 or more days per month.