Councilmember Robert White Statement on the McPherson Square Encampment
Helping people get housing is the solution to the problems of people staying in the encampments. We have enough housing vouchers to house people, but the system to access the vouchers is severely backlogged. Executing encampment clearings while people sit on waiting lists for support is cruel and is slowing the process of ending encampments. […]
Statement: More Affordable Housing and Resident Input When City Gives Developers Public Properties – Why I Re-Introduced the Common Ground Act
Responding to the District’s affordable housing crisis and displacement of longtime Washingtonians, this week I was proud to introduce the Common Ground Amendment Act of 2023. This bill significantly reforms what the city does with public land it no longer uses. My goal with this bill is to use public lands to create more affordable housing, […]
Statement: Councilmember Robert White on the Council’s Vote to Override the Mayor’s Veto of the Revised Criminal Code
Today, I joined with Council colleagues and voted to overturn the Mayor’s veto of the revised criminal code because I do not believe that throwing it out keeps us safe. Like most District residents, I am alarmed by the shootings and violence that seem to be increasing. For families who have lost loved ones, I […]
Councilmember Robert White Statement on DHS Ending Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable People
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced that it will phase out the Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Individuals (PEP-V) in part due to the lapse of federal government funding to support the program. In this transition, we must ensure that DC residents experiencing homelessness who are currently being housed temporarily in hotels […]
Statement: Councilmember Robert White Supports Achieving Mayor’s Goal of 15,000 New Downtown Residents in Five Years, With a Focus on Equity
As a longtime champion of converting unused downtown office space to affordable housing, and as the new chair of the Housing Committee, I laud Mayor Bowser’s goal of housing 15,000 residents downtown over the next five years. The District is facing a housing crisis that has real implications for both our residents and our local […]
Statement: Councilmember Robert White on the Office of the DC Auditor’s DGS Report
I appreciate the work that the Office of the DC Auditor and their external partners put into their review of work management practices at the Department of General Services (DGS) based on 2021 data. As chair of the Council committee with oversight of DGS, I find the report unsurprising and, unfortunately, in line with the […]
Statement: Councilmember Robert White Shares Path Forward for Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act
I know that many people, from civil rights advocates to business leaders, are closely following the Stop Discrimination by Algorithms Act. This legislation is very important. I want to thank Attorney General Karl Racine and his team for their groundbreaking work to pioneer new civil rights protections for the automated era in which we live. […]
Statement: Complete Overhaul Necessary to Fix DCHA
The damning HUD report on DCHA requires urgent and thorough action. DCHA is an agency in chaos. The Council must hold a hearing on this report immediately. Further, the Mayor and the Council must reconstitute the Board of Commissioners and appoint a Director with housing experience. It is clear that the current Board, as a […]
Statement: Councilmember Robert White Urges Administration & Council to Follow Legal Medicaid MCO Contract Awarding Process, Not Lobbyist Influence Campaign
On Friday, September 30, contract extensions were approved for the District’s current Managed Care Organization (MCO) contractors from October 1 through the end of 2022. These contract extensions are an interim measure while the Council awaits new contracts (totaling over $2 billion) from the executive, following an extremely delayed contract awarding process that should have […]
DGS Update: Keeping Our Kids Cool and Safe in School
The number of hot classrooms, broken HVAC systems, and other facility issues reported last summer was unacceptable, and these failures cannot be repeated during school reopening this fall. Students, teachers, and administrators of DC Public Schools (DCPS) deserve safe and well-maintained classrooms. And parents deserve to know that their children are learning in an environment […]