House OKs Final Version of D.C. Oversight Bill

The House reconciled minor differences with the Senate on Friday and approved a bill to create an oversight board for the cash-strapped District of Columbia, sending the measure to President Clinton.

By voice vote, the House adopted changes in the version of the bill passed by the Senate late Thursday night. Those changes expand the pool from which the President may appoint members to the oversight board, including anyone who has a “primary residence” or “primary place of business” in the nation’s capital.

Only district taxpayers would have been eligible for board membership under the House version.

Passage was speeded because of bipartisan concern about the city’s fiscal distress, said Rep. James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that deals with District funding.

“This will bring closure (to) the first step of restoring our nation’s capital,” Walsh said. “No one wanted to see the District of Columbia fail and by working together across party lines, we managed to avoid that scenario.”

The measure authorizes the President to establish a five-member board that could reject spending and borrowing plans proposed by city officials and withhold funds if budget goals aren’t met. The mayor is required to submit yearly spending plans to the board for approval.

The bill requires the city to make substantial progress toward a balanced budget over the next three years, and to have a balanced budget beginning in fiscal year 1999. The oversight board also would be the only authority that could borrow money from the U.S. Treasury on the city’s behalf.