D.C. asks Congress to fund courts, college aid, and transit

The D.C. Council adopted its 2026 federal budget portion as a request for Congress to provide money and authority. The request covers D.C. services, including courts, resident college tuition support, and Metro projects. Congress must provide the requested money before the listed payments can be made. The request covers the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026.

The proposal would set two figures in D.C.'s college access law at $15,000 and $75,000 and require proportional reductions to certain student payments. The reduction covers the whole tuition and fee payment of each eligible student who receives more than $10,000 in those payments for an award year. Congress must enact the proposal. The proportional reduction would follow an earlier reduction step. The $10,000 threshold applies to each award year.

D.C. would apply sales and use taxes to specified sales in federal buildings and by federally created groups. The rule covers specified sales in D.C. federal buildings and sales by groups established under federal law. Congress must enact the proposed rule. Public sales at federal building shops count when the federal government, its agents, or contractors run them. Sales to other buyers count only when agents or contractors run the shops. A federally created group's otherwise exempt sales count only when comparable sales by a federally tax-exempt D.C. nonprofit would be taxed.

D.C. officials would need Council approval before committing or spending more than $500,000 from the contingency reserve fund. The rule applies to D.C.'s contingency reserve fund. Congress must enact the proposed rule. The Council must approve the spending by resolution, a formal vote. Approval must come before officials commit or spend the money.