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The District of Columbia Financial Control Board (officially the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority) was a five-member body established by the United States Congress in 1995 to oversee the finances of Washington, D.C. Created through the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, the board had the power to override decisions by Washington's mayor and city council. It suspended its activities on September 30, 2001, when the District achieved its fourth consecutive balanced budget.〔(Board website ), archived 2001-10-09.〕 ==Background== Article I, Section 8 The United States Constitution grants Congress the authority "To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States." However, after several attempts at governing bodies of various structures and independence, Congress in 1973 passed legislation (the District of Columbia Home Rule Act) investing local government in a mayor and 13-member city council, to be elected by the District's citizens. However, all legislation and executive actions were subject to congressional oversight and approval. By the mid-1990s, however, DC's elected officials had mired the capital in a financial crisis. In particular, the mayoral administrations of Marion Barry and Sharon Pratt Kelly had frequently outspent their budgets, squandering city finances by the hiring vast numbers of city employees (so many that the city could not keep track of precisely how many), mismanagement, and extravagances. A Government Accounting Office audit conducted during Kelly's administration in 1994 projected a $1 billion shortfall by Fiscal Year 1999; when Barry regained the office of mayor in 1995, his new administration found that FY96 would include a deficit of over $700 million. Barry soon petitioned Congress for financial rescue — although his proposal did not include significant cuts in the city's budget or payroll but relied on federal funding to compensate for the gap in funding. At that time, however, Republicans had just taken control of Congress, based partly on promises of fiscal restraint; instead of injecting federal cash into the city, Congress enacted legislation to create the Control Board, assuming budgetary and spending oversight over the mayor's office. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「District of Columbia Financial Control Board」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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