Chair Phil Mendelson, chair of the Council and chair of the Committee of the Whole, moved the Committee print of the Fiscal Year 2026 federal portion budget request act (Bill 26‑261) and the Committee approved it for placement on the consent agenda for the July legislative meeting.

The bill “sets forth the district government's request to Congress for federal funding to support the district's budget for fiscal year 2026,” Mendelson said, reading the measure's intent into the record. He told the Committee the District now derives roughly 99% of its operating revenue from locally raised sources and federal formula grants, and that less than 1% of the budget is from special federal payments requested for local programs.

The print listed specific federal requests, including $282,076,000 for the District of Columbia Courts; $310,800,000 for court services and offender supervision agencies (CSOSA); $105,000,000 for the Public Defender Service; $52,500,000 for school improvement and voucher programs; $71,000,000 for emergency planning and security (including an $11,000,000 reimbursement estimate tied to a June event); and $158,000,000 for WMATA capital support, among other items.

The print also contained legislative language requests — for example, language to allow the chief financial officer's compensation to be adjusted, a request that the council be able to electronically transmit legislation to Congress, and a section that would require withdrawals from the contingency cash reserve fund greater than $500,000 to be approved by the Council by resolution.

Council member Brooke Pinto highlighted one item tied to the criminal justice coordinating council, saying she “just wanted to lift up how important it is to get that funded, and thank you for including this here, through CJCC.” Budget staff in the hearing confirmed the measure's fiscal impact statement complied with council requirements and that there was no fiscal impact from placing the measure on consent.

The Committee voted unanimously to move the print with leave for staff to make technical and conforming changes and to place the measure on the consent agenda. The Committee also confirmed the measure was legally and technically sufficient and that the record would be complete once the report was filed.

The consent placement means the item will be considered without separate debate at the Council's legislative meeting that followed.