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144-397: The association, whose members are largely drawn from the business community, prefers to work behind the scenes and avoid media attention. It is highly influential, although assessments of its influence in the past decade have varied. The organization has also created a number of independent nonprofits and subsidiary bodies, which have worked on range of issues, from the D.C Policy Center and

288-630: A political action committee , as required by law. D.C. Agenda president John H. McKoy agreed to return all the funds to avoid a fine. D.C. Agenda dissolved in May 2004 after failing to raise the $ 1.7 million a year its annual budget required. Several of the organization's subsidiary efforts, such as the Neighborhood Information Service, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Awards, and Neighborhood College, were transferred to other nonprofits in

432-555: A psychiatric hospital in Rockville, Maryland . Graham then left his wife for Robin Webb, announced to his friends that he planned to divorce his wife and immediately remarry, and indicated that he wanted to purchase sole control of the Post Company. In June, in a fit of depression, he broke off his affair and returned home. On June 20, 1963, he entered Chestnut Lodge for the second time, and

576-416: A rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature , which may or may not have much, if any, connection with the subject matter of the bill. Some scholars identify riders as a specific form of logrolling , or as implicit logrolling. Others distinguish riders from logrolling. Adding riders to legislation is not permitted in legislatures bound by

720-530: A shotgun while his wife was in another part of the retreat. His body was found in a bathroom about 1:00 pm. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. During probate , Katharine Graham's lawyer challenged the legality of her husband's last will , written in 1963 in favor of his mistress. Edward Bennett Williams testified that Graham had not been of sound mind when he had instructed Williams to draw up his final will. Williams said that he had, at

864-407: A single-subject rule . In the U.S. Congress , riders have been a traditional method for members of Congress to advance controversial measures without building coalitions specifically in support of them, allowing the measure to move through the legislative process: "By combining measures, the legislative leadership can force members to accept a measure that might not survive alone because they want

1008-530: A "D.C. Building Corporation" to assist developers in obtaining financing for major projects, and pushed the city to create an economic development strategic plan. As part of its economic redevelopment initiative, the Federal City Council also sought to repeal rent control laws in the District of Columbia. Rent control, the organization argued, discouraged new housing from being built in the city and retarded

1152-690: A 1963 effort to demolish temporary building on the National Mall, a 1988 task force to win federal approval for the construction of an international trade center, the early 1990s Downtown Interactive Task Force, a 2002 effort to lobby the federal government for more money for the District of Columbia (led by Robert G. Liberatore, a senior vice president at DaimlerChrysler ), and a 2012 working group to identify new means of financing infrastructure. The Federal City Council has, on occasion, created longer-lived, semi-permanent or permanent subsidiaries or organizations as well. The first longer-term project initiated by

1296-544: A career in farming and real estate, and was elected to the State Senate . His mother, the former Florence Morris, had been a schoolteacher in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Graham was one of four children. One half brother, Bob Graham , was a former governor of the state of Florida (1979–1987) and a former United States Senator representing Florida from 1987 to 2005. Graham attended Miami High School and graduated from

1440-555: A consensus in Congress for a restructuring of the District's financing mechanisms. The report, Assessing the District's Financial Position , released in March 2002, called for a commuter tax and restoration of an annual federal payment in lieu of property taxes. The report also warned of half-billion dollar budget deficits if city spending were not slashed and tax cuts deferred. In 2006, the organization raised $ 100,000 to help incoming chairman of

1584-571: A dedicated tax to support Metro's capital needs and operations. The Federal City Council said it would attempt to build a coalition, consisting primarily of the region's largest employers and businesses with the most revenue, to support the changes. Within two weeks, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Greater Washington Board of Trade had signed on to the proposals. The state of Virginia agreed to back

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1728-494: A first rough draft of history that will never really be completed about a world we can never really understand   ... The phrase "first rough draft of history" may have been popularized by Graham, but it did not originate with him. It had been used repeatedly in the Post in the 1940s and the earliest known use was by Alan Barth : "News is only the first rough draft of history," and earlier expressions of similar sentiments dating to

1872-414: A liaison with corporations or nonprofits to implement public policy. D.C. Agenda also had a subsidiary body, the D.C. Agenda Support Corporation, led by former District of Columbia Administrator Carol Thompson Cole. D.C. Agenda had several subcommittees as well, including an Economic Development Strategy Group (organized in 1996 and led by local attorney Dana Stebbins). In 1997, D.C. Agenda proposed creating

2016-522: A major government office building in the 1930s but never built due to the financial distress caused by the Great Depression . This site won near-universal approval, and in 1987 Congress authorized construction of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center . Donald A. Brown, who chaired the Federal City Council's International Center Task Force, was one of five people nominated to

2160-462: A major report in January 1995 strongly criticizing the performance of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Although there were some improvements, the school system had declined in quality in the past six years, the report said. In June 1995, the Federal City Council endorsed private management of low-performing schools. The Federal City Council also opposed casino gambling in the District, and paid for

2304-579: A mayoral panel studying improvements to the city's public and charter schools. By 2016, the Federal City Council had expanded on its strategic plan by agreeing conduct more research into the city's problems, as well as act as a lobbyist for business before the Council of the District of Columbia. Lobbying came to the forefront due to the formation in 2001 of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute , a progressive think tank focused on local issues founded by

2448-443: A new office building there in 1978, but this effort failed. By 1988, however, the Federal City Council was part heavily involved with the city government, the federal government, and private landowners to plan a redevelopment of the warehouse area into apartment and office buildings, parks, and retail space. In the late 1980s, the Federal City Council turned its attention to crime rather than development. By this time, Washington, D.C.,

2592-556: A nonprofit, tax-exempt, public-private economic development corporation. The organization, dominated by private developers, would have broad power (including eminent domain and the right to own property) to direct planning and engage in redevelopment of the city's downtown and business corridors. The proposal asked for $ 50 million in cash from the federal government (with 40 percent earmarked for redevelopment efforts by other nonprofits), and $ 250 million in redistributable tax credits and surplus federal property. The D.C. Agenda proposal became

2736-473: A piece of legislation, "omnibus bills are pursued in order to get something passed." The phrase "and for other purposes" is frequently included within bills, even if a rider is not initially attached, so as to permit riders unrelated to the original legislation to be added later. When the veto is an all-or-nothing power as it is in the United States Constitution , the executive must either accept

2880-495: A public-private investment trust fund to help rebuild and improve the city's parks, public transit system, and sewer system. It established an internal task force to identify new means of financing bridge improvement, repair, and replacement; a new city jail; and improvements to city-owned golf courses. In 2013, the organization announced the creation of the Anacostia Waterfront Trust to coordinate regional efforts to end

3024-532: A sense of community; second, to expose its members to new thinking and ideas in the realm of economics. The group has since become "a cornerstone of the Washington business community", largely on the basis of its ability to bring a group of top-level business leaders together to listen to policymakers. (It does not advocate for, lobby on behalf of, or speak for the business community.) D.C. Committee on Public Education (a group of parents and business, religious, and civic leaders), in 1988. When released on June 20, 1989,

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3168-404: A series of major pipeline breaks led to emergency action in 1993.) The concept for a massive "trade center", which would become an international headquarters for corporations and trade associations, was a more successful project. In June 1983, the Federal City Council proposed that a huge $ 300 million structure be built on unused land adjacent to Maine Avenue SW . Despite local citizen opposition,

3312-474: A study of the District's finances which was highly critical of the city's excessive spending and lack of revenue. It supported a 1995 plan by Mayor Marion Barry to spend $ 2 billion improving New York Avenue NE , efforts to build a local cultural center, downtown revitalization, an effort to give the District a delegate in the United States Senate , and a National Museum of American Music (to be part of

3456-565: Is The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic itself, whose role under Section 68(2) of The Constitutional Court Act of the Czech Republic is to determine whether a bill has been adopted and passed in a constitutionally-conforming manner. The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic has taken hard view against wild riders. According to the conclusion of The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in its rulings Pl.ÚS 21/01 and Pl.ÚS 77/06, wild riders are unconstitutional and contrary to

3600-418: Is a relatively common one in legislative practice, and that this practice is in principle constitutionally conforming, but only in the case that the amended statutes bear mutual substantive connection to each other.  However, in this case, the amended laws were not bearing any direct substantive connection to each other and were amended by a single act. Such practice, according to The Constitutional Court of

3744-468: Is attached to the bill in the form of a proposed amendment. The rule of close relation (the germaneness rule) has been applied. In other words, it tests the issue as to whether, in this particular case, a proposed amendment was a proper amendment or whether it was a wild rider. In this ruling, The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic concluded that it takes a distinctly negative view of wild riders, especially because of their potential negative impact on

3888-587: Is contrary to the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the legislative procedure established by the Law of the Czech Republic . According to the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in its ruling Pl.ÚS 21/01, the legislative practice, when a single law amends several laws that are not directly related to each other in terms of content, does not correspond with the purpose and principles of

4032-632: Is credited with successfully lobbying the Eisenhower administration to expedite the razing of much of Southwest Washington It was also involved in an attempt to locate the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in the District of Columbia, urban planning, demolition of the temporary Main Navy and Munitions Buildings on the National Mall , the site of the proposed D.C. Cultural Center , and

4176-686: The ABC affiliate station in Miami , Florida (then WLBW-TV), changed their call letters to honor Phil to WPLG-TV; The Washington Post Company (later called Post-Newsweek Stations, and now known as the Graham Media Group) owned the station until it was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2014. In April 1963, Graham delivered a speech to the overseas correspondents of Newsweek in London : So let us today drudge on about our inescapably impossible task of providing every week

4320-530: The British Parliament , riders are prevented by the existence of the long title of a bill that describes the full purpose of the bill. Any part of the bill that falls outside the scope of the long title would not be permitted. However, legislators often bypass this limitation by naming a bill vaguely, such as by appending "and for connected purposes" to the name. Both Chamber of Deputies of The Czech Republic and Senate of The Czech Republic should respect

4464-467: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop plans for relocating low-income residents, and placed limits on the number of redevelopment projects that could be approved or constructed at any given time. But many liberals in Congress as well as HUD Secretary Robert C. Weaver opposed these riders. The riders were enacted into law. Unwilling to see redevelopment of Southwest D.C. collapse,

Federal City Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

4608-451: The District of Columbia Department of Public Works , creating a new District Department of Transportation in 2002. The Federal City Council helped win financing for a new Washington Convention Center. The existing convention center opened on December 10, 1982. But just eight years later, the facility's small size and a nationwide boom in the construction of large convention centers had caused

4752-701: The Far East Air Force , which was created in August 1944. In 1946, when Washington Post publisher Eugene Meyer was named the first president of the World Bank , he passed the position of publisher to Graham. When Meyer left the World Bank later that year, he took the title of chairman of the board of the Washington Post Company , leaving Graham as publisher. In 1948, Meyer transferred his actual control of

4896-631: The National Capital Planning Commission . Knox Banner was Downtown Progress' long-time leader. The group, which represented primarily very large businesses, produced a number of extensive, expensive plans to redevelop downtown D.C. and build an extensive network of subway lines beneath the area. The organization helped to win the creation of the Washington Metro, and development of the Washington Convention Center. It

5040-585: The National Capital Revitalization Corp. , which was created by law adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia in April 1998. D.C. Agenda created the nonprofit D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation in 1999. The trust worked to obtain government and corporate grants to help at-risk youth and build after-school programs at city public schools. After several years of mismanagement,

5184-602: The Smithsonian Institution ). In the late 1990s, the Federal City Council adopted its first strategic plan. Under the leadership of chairman Terence Golden in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Federal City Council began changing its focus away from big-budget infrastructure projects and toward more "community living" initiatives such as the creation of affordable housing, improved public schools, anti-drug and anti-crime initiatives, and support programs for at-risk youth. The organization spent two years trying to convince

5328-605: The University of Florida in 1936, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, and from Harvard Law School , where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review and earned a magna cum laude degree, in 1939. Graham was a member of both Florida Blue Key and Sigma Alpha Epsilon (Florida Upsilon chapter) and was both a fraternity brother and roommate of the late Senator George A. Smathers whom he had been close to since attending Miami High School with Smathers. In 1939–1940 he

5472-471: The Washington Board of Trade . George A. Garrett , a former ambassador, was elected the organization's first president on November 16. A fundamental concept which the group agreed upon early in its history was to work behind the scenes and only on projects that can shape the city for 20 years or more. The Federal City Council was active in a wide range of issues in the 1950s, including slum clearance, and

5616-564: The Washington Post and other parts of the Post Company, Graham played a backstage role in national and local politics. In 1954, Graham was the leading force behind the founding of the Federal City Council , a highly influential group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, D.C. In 1960, he helped persuade his friend John F. Kennedy to take Lyndon Johnson on his ticket as

5760-700: The West Virginia Legislature did not realize that the rider had been entered into the bill until it had already passed both state houses . Then-West Virginia governor Joe Manchin , although a personal supporter of the English-only movement , promptly vetoed the bill due to a provision in the Constitution of West Virginia that limits bills to one topic , which also makes riders de facto unconstitutional in West Virginia. To counteract riders, 43 of

5904-499: The parliamentary assemblies . In 1985 the Council started striking down amendment to laws because they were unrelated to the subject of the law. Two special categories of riders merit mention: the "budgetary riders", attached to budget bills, and "social riders", attached to the budget bill for social security organizations, clauses that have no link to the budget or to the social security budgets, respectively. Greece's constitutional provisions regarding parliamentary procedure forbid

Federal City Council - Misplaced Pages Continue

6048-425: The $ 818 million Ronald Reagan Building opened on May 5, 1998, after years of funding and construction delays. The construction of the Washington Metro and development of the federal government became major issues for the Federal City Council in the mid-1980s. The group received approximately $ 250,000 in August 1985 to study the transit needs of the area through the year 2000, the first time a group independent of Metro

6192-452: The 1950s). The organization believed that quick and easy automobile access to the city (with much inexpensive parking) would draw shoppers and retailers back. A large subway system was equally important, as the Federal City Council concluded that surface transit alone could not meet the needs of the rapidly growing D.C. metropolitan area. The organization pushed hard for construction of Metro even though Representative Natcher threatened to cancel

6336-431: The 1950s. In the 1980s, the Federal City Council backed two plans—one to reduce flights at Washington National Airport and another to redevelop Buzzard Point —at the opening and close of the decade. Neither plan was implemented. It also released a study in 1980 criticizing the District government for allowing significant deterioration in the city's 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of water pipes. (The city took no action until

6480-451: The 1960s, there was an increasingly strong push for District of Columbia home rule . Because it supported the vested interests of the status quo, the Federal City Council strongly opposed home rule. It opposed initiatives supported by home rule activists, and often proposed and pushed for the adoption of plans that home rule advocates opposed. In order to win support for its proposals, the Federal City Council raised money to re-elect members of

6624-422: The 285,000-square-foot (26,500 m) facility to see a dramatic drop in business. The Federal City Council pushed hard for the construction of a new, much larger convention center, and helped the city fashion ways to finance it. When the project encountered resistance from the business community and Congress, the Federal City Council mobilized its membership to come out publicly in support of the arena. In May 1990,

6768-415: The 50 U.S. states have provisions in their state constitutions allowing the use of line item vetoes so that the executive can veto single objectionable items within a bill, without affecting the main purpose or effectiveness of the bill. The Constitutional Council of France has taken an increasingly hard view against riders, which it considers unconstitutional and contrary to the rules of procedure of

6912-422: The Constitution of the Czech Republic . According to Article 2(3), ' State power shall be at the service of all citizens and may be exercised only in the cases, within the limits and in the manner prescribed by the law '. Up to date, there is no legislative regulation to prevent the practice of legislative riders. However, there are safeguards that should prevent the practice of wild riders. One of these safeguards

7056-423: The Council of the District of Columbia, Vincent C. Gray , fund a multiyear strategy plan for council action. It also raised more than $ 400,000 to help Fenty pay for an improved candidate recruitment process for his mayoral cabinet, and for a study on how to take over the public school system. For the first time since the 1980s, the organization made another major push to improve funding for Metro. In September 2004,

7200-462: The Czech Republic deemed necessary to distinguish two types of proposed amendments. The first type of proposed amendment has long been designated in American doctrine as "legislative riders", which is considered to be a constitutionally-conforming form of proposed amendment.  However, the second type, called "wild riders", is a technique in which a legislative scheme from an entirely different statute

7344-626: The Czech Republic , must be designated as an undesirable phenomenon, and one not corresponding to the purpose and principles of the legislative process. The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic further stated that the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies regulate the discussion of the act on the State Budget, according to which ' The Act on the State Budget may not provide for changes, amendments or cancellations or other acts of law. ' As far as

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7488-444: The D.C. Committee on Public Education (a group of parents and business, religious, and civic leaders), in 1988. When released on June 20, 1989, the report recommended spending $ 355 million over the next five years to extend the school day by five hours (to a 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. schedule); extend the school year by 40 days; construct new schools; repair existing schools; and add stronger math and science programs and multicultural education to

7632-518: The District of Columbia in the post-World War II period and the city's rapid loss of population and business to suburbs in Maryland and Virginia. Graham was also worried that the Southwest Washington urban renewal project, authorized in 1946 and funded in 1949, would be cancelled, ending the city's best chance at turning itself around. In 1952, Graham held a meeting of like-minded top businessmen in

7776-509: The District of Columbia of the House Committee on Appropriations , was not only a strong advocate of bridge and highway construction but also convinced that construction of the Inner Loop was essential to the growth of the District of Columbia. The Federal City Council, too, advocated the Inner Loop as a response to the flight of retail and light industry for the suburbs (a trend which began in

7920-548: The Federal City Council agreed to sponsor legislation that would authorize the Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA, the federal bureau overseeing the reconstruction of Southwest D.C.) to conduct redevelopment on the same basis as federal agencies in other cities. Although this meant ignoring the Federal City Council's plans for redevelopment, it allowed the RLA to begin acting quickly and decisively on redevelopment projects. Two of

8064-563: The Federal City Council also sponsored the creation of the Corporation Against Drug Abuse (CADA), an employer-funded entity to encourage the adoption of stricter drug testing and drug abuse policies in the workplace and to work against drug abuse generally in the community. As part of its interest in social programs, the Federal City Council also turned its attention for the first time to the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). DCPS Superintendent Andrew E. Jenkins awarded

8208-443: The Federal City Council began work on a new strategic plan to guide the organization's decision-making. It was the first strategic plan for the organization in more than a decade. The plan identified four key priorities: Lowering unemployment by developing new industries (its top priority), ensuring the city's financial stability and integrity (its second priority), improving public education, and improving city infrastructure. By design,

8352-518: The Federal City Council hosted a meeting with the Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce, and city officials to decide to take action. The Federal City Council, Board of Trade, and D.C. Chamber of Commerce agreed at the meeting to jointly conduct a study of the arena issue. The study identified several challenges, but also discovered that many sports teams were moving back into downtown areas from suburban sites. The study also identified several potential sites for

8496-509: The Federal City Council joined with the Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to create a task force to study Metro's revenues and financing. The group proposed that local governments dedicate a portion of their sales tax to Metro, but the plan generated no interest by local or state governments. In the 2010s, the Federal City Council continued to tackle many small issues in an attempt to improve

8640-619: The Federal City Council remained largely quiet on issues facing Metro and DC Streetcar , however. However, the organization did undertake a study of Metro in 2015 which led to a November 2016 report that called for a federal takeover of the transit agency if its three state-level partners did not agree to radically reconstitute Metro's governance structure. The report called for Metro's board to be drastically reduced in number and to be composed of transit professionals rather than political appointees. It also called for weaker protections for Metro's trade unions , and for each state-level partner to adopt

8784-412: The Federal City Council saw it, the bid gave the region an opportunity to engage in forward-looking plans that would ensure the region's economic stability by developing infrastructure, transportation, tourism, cultural facilities, and sporting venues that would last for 30 to 40 years. The Federal City Council was active on a much wider range of infrastructure initiatives. It advocated in 2012 creation of

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8928-490: The Federal City Council was Downtown Progress. In 1958, the Federal City Council recommended the creation of a new organization to attract business investment in the former retail core of the District of Columbia. On April 1, 1960, this organization, the National Capital Downtown Committee, Inc.—better known as "Downtown Progress"—was formed as a joint effort of the Federal City Council and a federal agency,

9072-592: The Federal City Council was the Municipal Research Bureau. Created in 1974, it was led by Philip M. Dearborn, Jr., an expert in municipal finance and director of the Brookings Institution's Greater Washington Research Program. Its mission was to provide general research on issues important to the District of Columbia. It merged with the Washington Center for Metropolitan Studies in 1978 to become

9216-433: The Federal City Council's agenda in the early 1960s. But big economic development projects moved to center stage for the organization. It unsuccessfully pushed for a "Federal City Center" (a vast complex of government office buildings akin to Federal Triangle ) in 1960. The organization also pushed hard for construction of the D.C. Cultural Center, even though it lost the battle to erect the auditorium at L'Enfant Plaza . It

9360-753: The Greater Washington Board of Trade and other private groups, the Federal City Council—not public officials, fans, or sports interests—pushed for a new arena downtown. Abe Pollin was the owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Bullets , professional hockey and basketball teams (respectively) which played at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland . But the Capital Centre was a small, aging facility, and there seemed an opportunity to bring

9504-495: The Greater Washington Research Center. The Greater Washington Research Center merged with the Brookings Institution in 2001. In 1986, the Federal City Council spawned The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. The group formed in response to the nationalization and globalization of many D.C. businesses, as well as the rapid increase in " new economy " businesses inside the city and in the surrounding suburbs. There

9648-528: The House of Representatives. When the bill died in the Senate at the end of the 87th Congress , it went to the Senate and won passage there in 1963. When the 1963 legislation moved to the House, Representatives John Dowdy and John L. McMillan attached a number of riders to the bill that required competitive bidding , forced federal agencies to give displaced businesses priority in receiving federal assistance, required

9792-457: The Post Company stock (the company was privately owned) to his daughter and her husband. Katharine Graham received 30 percent as a gift. Phil received 70 percent of the stock, his purchase financed by his father-in-law. Meyer remained a close adviser to his son-in-law until his death in 1959, at which time Graham assumed the titles of President and Chairman of the Board of the Post company. While running

9936-498: The U.S. Department of Transportation, and local real estate developer Akridge to begin work on Burnham Place—a $ 1.5 billion mixed-use development that will build a new passenger terminal and retail, residential, and office buildings over the tracks (while adding a large parking garage beneath the tracks). This included studying the infrastructure and architectural/engineering aspects of Union Station and identifying as many sources for funding and financing as possible. From 2010 to 2015,

10080-452: The U.S. International Cultural and Trade Center Commission, which served as a board of supervisors overseeing the construction of the building. Terence Golden, who was director of the federal government's General Services Administration (GSA) and who helped shepherd the legislation authorizing the building through Congress, later was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Federal City Council. Originally intended to cost $ 363 million,

10224-534: The Washington Housing Conservancy , to waterway restoration to crime. The Federal City Council was incorporated on September 13, 1954, "to develop, stimulate and encourage civic leadership in community development in the National Capitol". Phil Graham , co-owner and publisher of The Washington Post , was the major force in creating the council. Graham was deeply concerned about the decline of

10368-484: The area. Phil Graham Philip Leslie Graham (July 18, 1915 – August 3, 1963) was an American newspaperman . He served as publisher and later co-owner of The Washington Post and its parent company, The Washington Post Company . During his years with the Post Company, Graham helped The Washington Post grow from a struggling local paper to a national publication and the Post Company expand to own other newspapers as well as radio and television stations. He

10512-495: The boardroom of Riggs Bank to discuss formation of an organization to counteract these trends. These discussions led to formation of the Federal City Council in 1954. Membership was largely limited to businesspeople, because the group felt that only private sector money and a business-like approach to development and management could improve the District. Among the original members of the group in 1954 were Graham and Francis Addison, Jr., president of Security Bank and former president of

10656-513: The challenge Carter set for the group. Agenda Progress spent 1993 and 1994 cooperating with the Brookings Institution on a study of the finances of the District of Columbia. This study deeply influenced the Clinton administration's decision to impose the District of Columbia Financial Control Board on the city in 1995. In 1995, Agenda Progress was renamed D.C. Agenda, and led by former Barry administration official James O. Gibson. Its original purpose

10800-406: The city and Cooke broke down, Federal City Council officials tried to restart them. Cooke cancelled the talks, and then announced he was building a new stadium in Landover, Maryland . The Federal City Council and its Committee on Public Education remained active on education issues in the 1990s. The council promoted privatization of the city's public schools in early 1994, and the committee issued

10944-416: The city between 1986 and 1987. A private study estimated that one in six African American men in the city were arrested for selling illegal drugs before the age of 21, and by 1990 a shocking one in four African American men in the city had sold drugs before the age of 30. By 1990, the District of Columbia had the nation's highest rate of drug addiction (32.9 per 1,000 residents). The crack cocaine epidemic drove

11088-521: The city council in April 2007 and permitted to become law by the United States Congress. Janney was fired by Mayor Adrian Fenty on June 12, 2007, and Michelle Rhee installed as the city's new Chancellor of Public Schools. Certain statements by Rhee were misconstrued by opponents of the school takeover, who said that Rhee had to seek Federal City Council approval of all major city schools policy changes. Although Rhee never made any such statement,

11232-562: The city unveiled plans for a new $ 685 million, 2,300,000-square-foot (210,000 m) convention center backed by the Federal City Council and the Board of Trade. Ground was broken for the new Walter E. Washington Convention Center on October 2, 1998. Another project which the Federal City Council supported was construction of the MCI Center (now the Verizon Center ) in Chinatown . Along with

11376-430: The city's economic growth. The city's rent control law, enacted in 1975, was seen as vulnerable by the Federal City Council in 1975 and 1976, as few residents had seen its benefits and did not yet support it. Its repeal attempt was unsuccessful, however. The Federal City Council also began unsuccessfully pushing in the late 1970s for a regional economic planning board similar to the urban planning body it had pressed for in

11520-669: The city's murder rate in 1988 to 372, and 80 percent of the city's murders were drug-related. With drug-related crime outstripping by far economic development as the city's largest problem, in 1986 the Federal City Council joined with the Community Foundation, the Greater Washington Board of Trade , and the Greater Washington Research Center to form the Washington Fund for the Prevention of Substance Abuse. By October 1988,

11664-526: The city's new Major League Baseball franchise, the Washington Nationals ). Education reform continued to draw the organization's attention as well. The Federal City Council funded a study of the school system's administration, staff training, and curriculum by McKinsey & Company in 2001. The study led the D.C. Public Schools to adopt a five-year plan, titled "Business Plan for Strategic Reform", for making system wide improvements. Two years later,

11808-419: The city, the Federal City Council took over the talks and successfully convinced Pollin to move his teams. The Federal City Council hired several nationally known sports arena and financial consultants to conduct research into the financial feasibility of the proposed arena. These consultants also participated in talks with Pollin. The Federal City Council also successfully pressed the city to provide financing for

11952-457: The claims gained some traction among some public school activists. But the Federal City Council was, according to The Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis, "a prime supporter of Fenty's education reform efforts." Reform of city finances and government also occupied the Federal City Council. In 2001, at the behest of Natwar M. Gandhi, D.C.'s chief financial officer, the organization agreed to update its 1994 study on city revenues in order to build

12096-582: The continuing pollution of the Anacostia River and to begin cleanup efforts of the riverbed. Doug Siglin, formerly the federal affairs director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation , was named executive director of the Trust. The Federal City Council agreed to back a multibillion-dollar federal plan to end raw sewage flows into the river; mitigation of greywater , surface runoff , and urban runoff into

12240-403: The council served on the commission. The commission recommended changes to the District's tax code (including adding a bracket for middle-income earners and an increase in the standard deduction) which made it the second-most progressive in the nation. However, the organization also supported a bid to make the District of Columbia the American host-city candidate for the 2024 Summer Olympics . As

12384-405: The curriculum. To pay for the plan, the Federal City Council's team suggested cutting administrative costs by $ 8.5 million, eliminating 400 central staff positions, closing some schools, and selling some school property. The Committee on Public Education remained active for many years, issuing reports critical of the public school system. In 1989, the Federal City Council issued a report castigating

12528-453: The entire bill to pass." Since the 1980s, however, omnibus bills have become more common: these bills contain provisions, sometime important provisions, on an array of policy areas, and "are powerful for focusing attention away from controversial items to other main items" that either have broad support or are viewed as necessary, "must-pass" measures (such as appropriation bills ). While members of Congress often use riders to attempt to kill

12672-521: The federal government to reopen Pennsylvania Avenue NW in front of the White House (to no avail) pushed a Constitutional amendment to give the District a seat in the House, and supported a legal brief in District of Columbia v. Heller , 554 U.S. 570 (2008), supporting the city's strict gun control law. It did, however, support one major construction project, the new Nationals Park (a baseball stadium for

12816-498: The federal government undertake a 10-year plan to construct new federal office buildings rather than lease space for federal agencies. The proposal seemed to die, but in 1990 the GSA incorporated its key recommendations into a new office space consolidation policy. GSA even proposed building a new United States Department of Transportation headquarters using air rights above the railroad tracks north of Union Station . The financing model for

12960-564: The first decade of the 20th century. On June 5, 1940, he married Katharine Meyer , a daughter of Eugene Meyer , a multi-millionaire and the owner of The Washington Post , then a struggling newspaper. The couple settled down in a two-story row house . Their first baby died at birth. Four children followed: Elizabeth ('Lally') Morris Graham , now Weymouth (born July 3, 1943), Donald Edward Graham (born April 22, 1945), William Welsh Graham (1948–2017), and Stephen Meyer Graham (born 1952). Rider (legislation) In legislative procedure ,

13104-453: The government of the District of Columbia for allowing the city's roads to deteriorate. The report noted that the city spent just $ 5 million a year on road repair, which it used almost exclusively for temporary patches rather than permanent repair, upgrades, and maintenance. The report identified a $ 1.6 billion backlog in street maintenance projects. The backlogs led the city to separate its road maintenance, repair, and construction functions from

13248-423: The group's attention when it came to the city's financial stability. The Federal City Council supported a successful city sales tax on gym memberships and yoga classes that generated $ 5 million a year. The organization backed the "wellness tax" in order to pay for a city council-enacted income tax cut that cost $ 143 million a year. The Federal City Council also supported the D.C. Tax Revision Commission, and members of

13392-503: The group. In Katharine Graham's book Personal History , she notes that her husband was always intense and spontaneous, but occasionally lapsed into periods of depression . In 1957, he had a severe manic episode and, at the time, no medicines were available for effective treatment. He retired to the couple's farm in Marshall, Virginia , to recuperate. Thereafter, periods in which he functioned brilliantly alternated with periods in which he

13536-406: The idea of a smaller, more professional board. The Federal City Council was somewhat inactive on education reform for the first half of the 2010s. It quietly supported the education reforms planned and implemented by public schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and her successor, Kaya Henderson . The council first drew media attention in 2016, when the organization's executive director agreed to co-chair

13680-415: The issue of legislative riders is concerned, this ruling of The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic is considered to be the most significant. In this case, The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic had to assess whether the proposed amendment submitted by MP Michal Doktor concerned the same subject as the bill which was under consideration in the legislative process. The Constitutional Court of

13824-536: The late 1960s and the early 1970s. The Three Sisters Bridge project was killed in the House of Representatives in early December 1971. With the Inner Loop dead, the Federal City Council continued to push for city-owned parking and for full funding of the Metro system. With federal funds for massive infrastructure development dwindling fast in the early 1970s, the Federal City Council turned its focus to smaller projects that would spur economic development. One of its key issues

13968-467: The law of legislative procedure and its principles. What occurred in this particular budget case is that several statutes were simultaneously amended by a single statute, and among these amended statutes was an act on the State Budget . The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic stated that the practice by which several diverse statutes are simultaneously amended by the adoption of a single statute

14112-464: The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities . As part of its lobbying effort, the Federal City Council sent representatives on a trade mission to China and worked to defeat a proposed paid family leave bill. On several occasions, the Federal City Council has created subsidiary organizations to take on tasks of a specific geographic or technical nature. Some of these have proven highly influential in themselves. Short-term initiatives include

14256-426: The legislative process. Such a procedure would create an unclear legal situation which contradicts the fundamental principles of the rule of law. The basic principles of the rule of law are the principles of the predictability of the law, its comprehensibility, clarity and internal consistency, i.e. the coherence and unity of the legal order. The principle of the democratic rule of law is regulated by Articles 1 and 2 of

14400-455: The livability of Washington, D.C. These included improving the streetscape of 10th Street SW (also known as L'Enfant Promenade), adding a bus-only lane and streetcar to K Street NW in downtown, reopening Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the White House, addressing congestion on downtown streets, improving D.C.'s tourism industry, supporting the 2015 merger between Exelon and Pepco . In 2011,

14544-537: The major projects the Federal City Council pushed for in the 1960s were Inner Loop highway system and its associated Three Sisters Bridge , and the Washington Metro subway system. The Inner Loop was strongly opposed by local citizens, who felt it was unnecessary, destroyed many neighborhoods, and despoiled the environment. However, Representative William Natcher , chairman of the Subcommittee on Appropriations for

14688-462: The measure died. Other, smaller projects with the Federal City Council worked on during the 1960s included another attempt to get rid of the "tempos" on the National Mall, construction of a "national aquarium" in East Potomac Park , and a major boost in police to create a "war on crime". The agenda of the Federal City Council could also work against democracy in the District of Columbia. During

14832-400: The microphone he made a number of provocative comments, including the revelation that Kennedy was sleeping with Mary Pinchot Meyer . His assistant, James Truitt , called for his doctor, Leslie Farber, who flew in by private jet, as did (subsequently) Graham's wife. Graham was sedated , bound in a straitjacket , and flown back to Washington. He was committed for five days to Chestnut Lodge ,

14976-416: The new arena. The city dropped out of the project so as not to appear to be raiding another jurisdiction's sports teams. The Greater Washington Board of Trade initially led talks with Pollin, which began in mid-January, until Maryland officials pointed out that—as a representative of businesses in Maryland and Virginia, not just D.C.—the group had a conflict of interest. Wanting to bring the sports teams back to

15120-499: The organization a $ 500,000 grant to assemble a team of 51 community leaders and review DCPS curricula, budget, extra-curricular programs, and educational goals and priorities. The grant was one of the largest ever made by the school system. The report, due in June 1989, was expected to guide the DCPS system through the 1990s. To build support for implementing the report's findings, the council created

15264-499: The organization convinced D.C. Mayor Marion Barry to begin pushing the plan through the D.C. City Council and Congress. Opposition from executive branch agencies, however, derailed the plan, and by 1986 the Federal City Council was looking for an alternative site for the building. In late 1986, the association began pushing for construction of the trade center on a parking lot in Federal Triangle , an area originally intended for

15408-659: The organization partnered with the Kimsey Foundation and the Morino Institute to fund on-the-job training for 40 school principals over five years. In 2004, the Federal City Council led an effort to raise private money to help improve the salary of the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools. The move came as the city struggled to find a replacement for Paul L. Vance , who resigned in November 2003. In 2006,

15552-408: The organization quietly told city officials that it was deeply unhappy with the leadership provided by Clifford P. Janey , Vance's successor. It also funded a $ 400,000 study the same year on behalf of incoming mayor Adrian Fenty on how to take over the public school system. Fenty subsequently proposed major legislative changes that gave the mayor far greater power over the DCPS. These were approved by

15696-533: The parliamentary discussion of bills containing unrelated topics. Specifically, article 74, paragraph 5 of the Greek Constitution stipulates that a) a bill that contains provisions unrelated to its main subject is not introduced for discussion, and b) additions or amendments unrelated to the bill's main subject are not introduced for discussion. In 2005, the Constitutional Court of Hungary struck down

15840-432: The powerful House Committee on the District of Columbia —most of whom also opposed home rule, as it significantly reduced their power in Congress. Although portions of the Inner Loop were constructed, the majority of highways that comprised the system (including the elements most destructive of neighborhoods and the environment) were cancelled by federal court decisions and by changes in national transportation policy during

15984-473: The principles of transparent governance, and should be scrutinised by the opposition and the general public. Their final decision should follow a long and public debate on the subject of regulation. In The Czech Republic , however, this parliamentary principle is often violated by complex amendments to bills and so-called wild riders, amendments that are not substantively related to the bill in question. In The Czech Republic , acceptance of legislative additions

16128-490: The project and to help clear away permitting and construction hurdles. Construction on the MCI Center began in 1994 and ended in 1995. The Federal City Council was less successful in keeping the Washington Redskins professional football team in town. In 1991 and 1992, team owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted a new stadium, but the cash-strapped city wanted to renovate Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium . When talks between

16272-437: The public school system. Another major project of the Federal City Council was Agenda Progress. This project came about in 1991 after former President Jimmy Carter asked members of the Federal City Council whether they believed their efforts would completely turn the city around in five to ten years. None did. Agenda Process was launched shortly after Carter's speech as a means to identify projects and mechanisms that would meet

16416-615: The report recommended spending $ 355 million over the next five years to extend the school day by five hours (to a 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. schedule); extend the school year by 40 days; construct new schools; repair existing schools; and add stronger math and science programs and multicultural education to the curriculum. To pay for the plan, the Federal City Council's team suggested cutting administrative costs by $ 8.5 million, eliminating 400 central staff positions, closing some schools, and selling some school property. The Committee on Public Education remained active for many years, issuing reports critical of

16560-647: The riders or reject the entire bill. The practical consequence of the custom of using riders is to constrain the veto power of the executive . The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was passed to allow the President of the United States to veto single objectionable items within bills passed by Congress , but the Supreme Court struck down the act as unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York . Riders may be unrelated to

16704-520: The river; and research into the best way to address the deep deposits of dangerous contaminants on the river bottom. As part of its Anacostia River initiative, the council supported legislation (enacted in 2014) banning the use of polystyrene foam containers for use by food carryout providers. It also continued work to preserve and improve Union Station, and worked closely with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, Amtrak,

16848-409: The same time he prepared the will, written a memorandum for the file stating that Graham was mentally ill , and that he was preparing the will at Graham's direction only to maintain their relationship. The judge in the case ruled that Graham had died intestate . A compromise was eventually reached whereby Katharine Graham gave up part of her inheritance in favor of her children. On March 16, 1970,

16992-488: The size of the federal payment made to the city in lieu of property taxes . It was particularly active on the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge issue. It pushed hard for a bridge rather than a tunnel, and, once a bridge had been chosen, for the bridge's location to be about 800 feet (240 m) upstream from the final location. Urban planning and the federal contribution to the city's budget continued to occupy some of

17136-404: The strategic plan closely tracked the major priorities of newly elected Mayor Vincent C. Gray. In April 2012, the Federal City Council hired former mayor Anthony Williams as its new executive director. He replaced eight-year veteran John W. Hill, Jr. Williams reiterated the organization's focus on jobs, government effectiveness and efficiency, and improvements to infrastructure. Williams' appointment

17280-505: The structure had "the fingerprints of the Federal City Council all over it." The Federal City Council actively pushed for redevelopment of the northwest bank of the Anacostia River as a means of creating room for more federally owned office buildings as well as redeveloping the District of Columbia. The General Services Administration initially tried to lure the Securities and Exchange Commission to Buzzard Point by offering to construct it

17424-456: The subject matter of bills to which they are attached and are commonly used to introduce unpopular provisions. For example, a rider to stop net neutrality was attached to a bill relating to military and veteran construction projects. Another rider has been the Hyde Amendment which since 1976 has been attached to Appropriation Bills to prevent Medicaid paying for most abortions . Another

17568-460: The subway project if the Inner Loop was not constructed. The organization also wished to ensure that wealthier suburbanites would be able to reach the downtown D.C. shopping district, in the hopes this would reverse or at least stop the flight of retail out of the city. As part of its Inner Loop push, the Federal City Council asked the City Commission to " nationalize " all parking the city. This

17712-534: The teams back into the District of Columbia. The effort began in the summer of 1993, when Federal City Council president Ann Dore McLaughlin had a casual conversation with Gordon Gund , owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team, and learned of the "Cleveland model" for a public-private partnership to build a basketball arena in downtown Cleveland , Ohio . McLaughlin later shared this information with then-D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly , who

17856-407: The trust collapsed and dissolved in April 2016. In 2000, D.C. Agenda began collecting funds from the public as part of a political campaign to support a referendum that would dramatically alter the powers of the D.C. State Board of Education. More than $ 80,000 was collected from 25 individuals. But the District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance found that D.C. Agenda had failed to register as

18000-539: The vice presidential candidate, talking frequently to both during the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California . During the 1960 campaign, he wrote the drafts for several speeches that Johnson gave. After Kennedy and Johnson were elected in November, he successfully lobbied for the appointment of Douglas Dillon as Secretary of the Treasury , and frequently discussed other appointments with Kennedy. In

18144-441: The yearly national budget law in its entirety, because almost half of the paragraphs were not related to state fiscals at all, but modified 44 other existing pieces of legislation, which concerned health regulations, public education and foreign relations. This judicial ruling restricted the government's future options in bypassing due parliamentary debate and imposing certain reforms unilaterally. In some legislative systems, such as

18288-548: The years after Kennedy's inauguration, he wrote occasional drafts of speeches, primarily for Johnson, but also for the President and for Robert F. Kennedy . In 1961, Kennedy named Graham to serve as an incorporator for the Communications Satellite Corporation, known as COMSAT , a joint venture between the private sector and government for satellite communications. In October 1961, he was appointed chairman of

18432-410: Was a major step, for it meant government ownership of all parking lots , parking garages , and valet parking lots in the city. The Washington Parking Association, a trade association of parking lot owners, strongly opposed the move. Although the City Commission was willing to pass nationalization legislation, there was extensive opposition in Congress (which had the power to overturn any city law), and

18576-451: Was a sense that many of the area's mid- and top-level managers were not from the area, felt little attachment to the region, and had few friends in the city. The Economic Club was founded by Federal City Council members Ed Hoffman (president of Woodward & Lothrop ) and R. Robert Linowes (a successful local attorney). The goal was two-fold: First, to provide a way for business leaders to socialize, become acquainted with one another, and form

18720-399: Was authorized by the federal government to conduct such a study. The organization's study, released in March 1986, said Metro faced a financial crisis by 2000 caused by significant cuts in federal funds as well as rapidly growing capital improvement needs (such as replacing subway cars and worn equipment and track). In December 1986, the Federal City Council issued a report that recommended that

18864-538: Was completely unrelated to the broader bill's primary focus on health care reform . Riders exist at the state level as well. For just one example, a 2005 bill in West Virginia that was primarily focused on limiting the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation unexpectedly included a rider that made the English language the official language of the state of West Virginia. Most members of

19008-417: Was enthusiastic but emphasized that the private sector must take the lead on the effort. McLaughlin began having talks with Pollin's friends and associates, and members of Pollin's staff. In early November, the Board of Trade sought and won a meeting with Pollin. Pollin said he had received several offers to sell both teams, and was likely to do so unless a first-class sports arena could be built. On December 16,

19152-643: Was far more successful in opposing cancellation of the Southwest Washington urban renewal project, which called for razing nearly all buildings in that quadrant of the city and constructing a new urban center. Although the Federal City Council's specific plans were not adopted, it was deeply involved in the planning process and its studies often relied on by Congress. The Federal City Council even raised money to develop its own concepts for redeveloping downtown and Southwest D.C., and lobbied Congress to have its plans adopted. In 1962, it won adoption of its proposal in

19296-469: Was formally diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder ). He was treated with psychotherapy . Graham later made repeated requests of his doctors to be allowed a short stay away from the hospital, and was "quite noticeably much better", according to his wife. On August 3, 1963, he was permitted to go to their farmhouse in Virginia, Glen Welby, for the weekend. There, Graham killed himself with

19440-566: Was law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Stanley F. Reed , and the following year he was clerk to Justice Felix Frankfurter , who had been one of his professors at Harvard. During World War II , Graham enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces as a private in 1942 and rose to the rank of major by war's end. He worked as an assistant to William Donovan , head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In 1944 Graham

19584-483: Was married to Katharine Graham , a daughter of Eugene Meyer , the previous owner of The Washington Post . Graham, who had bipolar disorder , died by suicide in 1963, after which Katharine took over as publisher, making her one of the first women in charge of a major American newspaper. Graham was born to a Lutheran family in Terry, South Dakota . He was raised in Miami where his father, Ernest R. ("Cap") Graham , made

19728-414: Was morose and erratic and isolated himself. He often drank heavily (something he had done prior to 1957), and would become extremely argumentative and blunt. Through the Post Company's Newsweek arm, Graham eventually met Australian journalist Robin Webb, and in 1962 they began an affair. In 1963, he and Webb flew to Arizona ; he appeared at a newspaper publishing convention inebriated and/or manic. At

19872-623: Was not successful, however, in pushing for a similar network of tunnels and roadways that would accommodate rapid-transit buses and truck delivery. Downtown Progress also worked closely with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation to develop plans for the restoration and redevelopment of Pennsylvania Avenue NW in the 1960s and 1970s, and worked with the National Park Service to restore Ford's Theatre in 1968. The second long-term organization created by

20016-573: Was recruited into the "Special Branch, a super-secret part of Intelligence, run by Colonel Al McCormick". He later worked under General George Kenney, commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific. His wife followed him on military assignments to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania up until 1945, when he went to the Pacific theater as an intelligence officer of

20160-445: Was suffering from an epidemic of crack cocaine use. The drug made an appearance in the United States in 1981, and by the end of 1986 was deeply entrenched in the District of Columbia. The following year, one study estimated that there were 24,000 drug dealers in the city (38.6 per 1,000 residents), with at least 14,000 of them dealing on a regular basis (at least one day per week). By one estimate, cocaine and crack cocaine use doubled in

20304-784: Was the Boland Amendment in 1982 and 1983 to restrict financing of the Contras in Nicaragua. A recent notable example of a rider was in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 . An amended version of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 that was signed into law by Barack Obama only one week before, the amended bill included a rider for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act , whose student loan reform

20448-490: Was the construction of a Dwight D. Eisenhower Convention Center to make the city attractive to large trade association conventions. The push for a convention center began in 1973. Although there was extensive opposition in Congress at first, the Federal City Council lobbied hard for federal approval. This was finally given in 1978. The Washington Convention Center finally opened in December 1982. The Federal City Council also backed

20592-576: Was to serve as an unofficial transition committee at the start of Marion Barry's fourth term (1995 to 1999) as mayor. It represented the interests of large corporations and nonprofits doing business with city, providing them with research and technical assistance. In time, D.C. Agenda shifted its focus to building coalitions to support its agenda on city governance and financial/tax reform, improved support for economic development, neighborhood redevelopment, and at-risk youth intervention. In some cases, D.C. Agenda mimicked or implemented city functions and acted as

20736-490: Was widely seen by the news media as a significant boost to the organization's influence. To work toward the goal of lower unemployment, the Federal City Council opposed enactment in 2013 of a " living wage " law in the District of Columbia. The organization also joined an effort, spearheaded by The 2030 Group, to plan a multi-decade strategy for helping seven key industries in the region grow as well as how to encourage greater economic diversification. Tax issues largely occupied

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