Committee of the Whole Meeting: Budget and Confirmations - June 23, 2026
Committee of the Whole Meeting: Budget and Confirmations - June 23, 2026
On June 23, 2026, the Council of the District of Columbia's Committee of the Whole met to consider the Fiscal Year 2027 Federal Portion Budget Request Act and to advance several appointments to housing agencies. The meeting, chaired by Chairman Phil Mendelson, began at 11:28 AM and adjourned at 11:50 AM.
Consent Calendar
- Waived readings of the Secretary's report of committee filings and the log of introductions and referrals (unanimous voice vote).
- Confirmation resolutions from the Committee on Housing were placed on the consent agenda for the subsequent legislative meeting without objection: PR 26-599 (Lauren Pear as Rent Administrator), PR 26-632 (Steve Clinton), PR 26-633 (Edward Fisher), and PR 26-641 (Carrie Robinson) to the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency.
Discussion Items
- Bill 26-658 (Fiscal Year 2027 Federal Portion Budget Request Act): Chairman Mendelson presented the bill, explaining it requests federal funding for DC government agencies not funded locally, including the DC Courts, Public Defender Service, tuition assistance grants, and reimbursements for protecting federal officials. He noted that approximately 99% of the district's budget is from local revenue or federal formula grants, with less than 1% from federal payments. Councilmember Fruman asked about reductions in funding for DC Courts (from $360M to $274M), Offender Supervision (from $311M to $277M), and Public Defender Service (from $59M to $53M). Chairman Mendelson responded that the figures came from working with the agencies and that all relevant agencies felt held harmless. Fruman also asked about WMATA funding; the request for FY27 is $161.95M, adjusted for inflation from $150M in prior years. The bill was approved unanimously and placed on the non-consent agenda for the legislative meeting.
- Confirmation Resolutions: Councilmember Robert White presented four nominations from the Committee on Housing. He described each nominee's qualifications: Lauren Pear (Rent Administrator) led the rent registry implementation; Carrie Robinson brings finance and real estate expertise; Steve Clinton brings housing finance and capital markets experience; Edward Fisher brings community development and public-private partnership experience. Councilmember Felder made a supportive statement about Mr. Fisher but was reminded by the Chair that only questions were permitted. No further questions were asked. All four measures were found legally and technically sufficient and were placed on the consent agenda.
Key Outcomes
- Bill 26-658 was approved unanimously (voice vote) and will be placed on the non-consent agenda for the Council's legislative meeting.
- PR 26-599, PR 26-632, PR 26-633, and PR 26-641 were all moved to the consent agenda for the legislative meeting without objection.
- The meeting adjourned at 11:50 AM.
Meeting Transcript
I'm calling to order this meeting. This is a regular meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee of the Whole. Today is Tuesday, June 23rd, June 23rd, 2026 to times 11 28 in the morning. We are in room 500, the council chambers of the Johnny Wilson building. This is a regular meeting of the committee of the whole. We meet on the third, typically on the third Tuesday of the month. We will follow this meeting with an additional meeting of the council. Today is primarily budget day, although the committee of the whole has several other measures reported out of other committees that we will consider. We always begin our committee of the whole meeting to figure out whether we have a quorum. So Mr. Cash, would you call the roll? Chairman Mendelson. Present. Councilmember Allen. Here. Councilmember Bonds. Here. Councilmember Crawford. Here. Councilmember Felder. Councilmember Felder, Council Member Fruman. Present. Councilmember Henderson. Here. Councilmember Louis George. Councilmember Lewis George, Councilmember Nadaux. Here. Councilmember Parker. Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Pinto. Present. Councilmember Robert White. Present. Council Member Trainway. Present. Mr. Chairman, you have a quorum. Uh thank you. Because this is a regular meeting of the committee of the whole, we have uh the Secretary's logs. The first is the Secretary's report of committee filings. I'm going to recognize that Chair Pro Tem, Councilmember Anita Bonds. Thank you, Chairman. I waive the reading of the filing of the committee reports. It's been a motion to waive the reading of the report of committee filings. Is there discussion? On the motion to waive the reading, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? Hearing none, the ayes have it unanimously.
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