Maintaining the TANF Lifeline

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) is the only cash assistance program available in the District for families with low or no income. TANF supports families struggling to pay for rent, utilities, diapers and clothes, transportation, and other daily needs. 

Families who receive TANF were already facing a reduction in benefits: In last year’s budget, the Council enacted reductions and changes set to begin in October 2026 and gradually build through October 2029. Now, the Mayor wants to accelerate that timeline. As a proud member of the TANF is Still a Lifeline Coalition, we can't overstate how devastating the cuts to TANF will be for families trying to meet their children’s most basic needs.  

Here’s what’s at stake if the Council does not intervene now:

• Starting in October 2026, all TANF benefits will remain stagnant—there will be no cost-of-living adjustment to benefits even as the actual cost of living in DC skyrockets.  
• Harsher sanctions for not meeting strict work requirements will reduce some families’ benefits starting in October 2026.
• Parents who have been on TANF benefits for more than 60 months will see their benefits slashed by 30% or more in October 2026, and then completely cut to $0 in October 2027. This speeds up the previous timeline, which more slowly reduced TANF benefits after 60 months through 2029.

Prior to these proposed changes, DHS estimated that 15,000 children in DC would be affected if the Council did not restore TANF funding. Now, with accelerated, harsher cuts, more District children will be pushed even further into poverty.  

Preventing Homelessness and Evictions

The Mayor’s austerity budget does not include any funding for new permanent supportive or Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) housing vouchers. Although the budget includes a $27 million increase in funding for the LRSP, that funding is dedicated to existing vouchers only. Funding for permanent supportive housing vouchers for individuals and families was reduced by a combined $2.8 million. Without more permanent or emergency housing assistance, low-income Washingtonians will be pushed out of their homes.

The budget proposal also reduces funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to $7 million—battering the program again after its budget was already downsized from $26 million to $8.6 million in the last budget. Slashing one-time emergency funding meant for low-income tenants in moments of crisis will exacerbate evictions and lead to more housing instability. Recent legislative changes introduced more restrictions on how people can access emergency rental assistance, with demonstrable ripple effects. In November 2025, hundreds of DC residents waited outdoors for hours in cold temperatures, or on jammed phone lines, simply to request an appointment to apply for limited ERAP funds. Record-high evictions in 2025 show the demand for emergency rental assistance is overwhelming, and further reductions in funding will not suppress that demand—they will only worsen it. 

Preserving Health Care for DC Residents

Legal Aid is a proud participant in the Keep DC Healthy coalition, made up of patients, healthcare providers, and advocates. We commend Mayor Bowser’s decision not to end the Alliance program in its entirety in the next fiscal year, after last year’s cuts to the program devastated community members across the District.

The Alliance program provides life-saving coverage for low-income DC residents who are not eligible for Medicaid and who cannot afford the high costs of marketplace insurance. Funding for Alliance in FY27 preserves health insurance coverage for more than 25,000 low-income DC residents. However, thousands of former Alliance enrollees lost coverage due to last year's cuts to the program.

We were glad to see the Mayor’s budget allocates $9 million to support dental and vision benefits for both Alliance and the new Healthy DC plan. This means that DC residents who did not lose Alliance and Medicaid coverage last year will access more life-saving and necessary preventive health care. Nonetheless, more federal cuts are on the way. Hundreds of DC residents will lose access to Medicaid and Medicare, making local funding for enrollment in other health insurance programs more important. We urge the Council to restore the income, age, and services available to Alliance recipients prior to October 1, 2025, and maintain these essential investments in the health and wellbeing of our community.

Protecting Access to Justice and Victim Services

Low-income DC residents are bearing the brunt of brutal federal safety net cuts, violent immigration enforcement and over-policing, economic instability and inflation, and laws eliminating tenant protections. The Access to Justice Initiative (ATJ) supports free legal services for thousands of DC residents through organizations like Legal Aid DC. The consistent provision of free legal services for community members with low or no income is more important than ever.

Nonetheless, Mayor Bowser has proposed an 86% decrease in ATJ funding—decreasing the budget from almost $32 million down to just $4.5 million. Cutting almost $27 million from ATJ will result in more DC residents navigating complex legal issues without help. Furthermore, Mayor Bowser has proposed a $5.5 million cut to Victim Services grants, which support organizations who provide a continuum of care for victims and survivors of crime.  

Legal Aid appreciates the Council’s steadfast and continued support each year that the mayor slashes Access to Justice funding. We ask the Council to do so again and not to leave DC residents without access to free legal help and essential victim services in the next budget.

Conclusion

Although DC is enduring what seems like an endless stress test, Legal Aid believes the Council can and must take care of its own despite the District’s financial constraints. We call on the Council to preserve health care access, reverse cuts to the TANF lifeline, boost emergency assistance and more vouchers for stable housing, and empower and protect DC residents by restoring Access to Justice and victim services funds.