Photo by kelly bell photography.

A day after a majority of D.C. councilmembers introduced a bill to repeal Initiative 77, some Congressional Republicans are also looking to stymie its implementation.

The measure, which passed with more than 55 percent of the vote during the June primary, will gradually eliminate the tipped minimum wage by increasing it until it meets the regular minimum wage in 2026.
Currently, tipped employees earn a lower minimum wage plus tips. If their takeaway doesn’t equal the regular rate, the employer must make up the difference.

After Initiative 77 passed, opponents promised that the fight had only just begun. And now, the battleground has expanded from the John A. Wilson Building to Capitol Hill.

North Carolina Representative Mark Meadows and Alabama Representative Gary Palmer introduced riders that would prevent D.C. from using its locally raised funds to carry out Initiative 77, as first flagged by Fenit Nirappil of the Washington Post.

To legislate D.C. policy, lawmakers on Capitol Hill often add policy riders, extra provisions that don’t necessarily have to do with the bill at hand. That’s how Congress prevents D.C. from funding abortions and allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, for instance.

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement that local issues like Initiative 77 “should be decided solely by D.C., not unaccountable members of Congress trying to interfere in the District’s local affairs.”

She points out that Meadows and Palmer, both Republicans, have made previous efforts to legislate on D.C.-specific issues, like budget autonomy and the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act. Neither Meadows’ nor Palmers’ offices have returned requests for comment.

“They can keep on trying, but we will keep on defeating them,” Norton said. “I will be going to the Rules Committee to testify against these offensive riders and I ultimately intend to defeat them.”

If the Rules Committee, run by Republicans, allows one or both of the riders to be included in what’s commonly called D.C.’s appropriations bill, it has to pass the House and Senate to become law.

The riders put Meadows, the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, and Palmer on the same side of Initiative 77 as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, more than half of the D.C. Council, and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Proponents of 77 wasted no time in pointing that out.

“This is a deeply undemocratic move by Republicans in Congress to strip D.C. voters of their right to home rule,” said One Fair Wage DC spokesperson Diana Ramirez in a statement. “Sadly, seven members of D.C. Council have aligned themselves with the effort to overturn Initiative 77. D.C. voters don’t like it when Congress disregards the will of the people, and they won’t forget it if Council stoops to their level.”

On Tuesday, One Fair Wage released a video showing clips of Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson telling Congress to respect the will of the people after voters passed Initiative 71, which legalized recreational marijuana in the District.

Not long ago, @MayorBowser and @ChmnMendelson were upset that Republicans in Congress wanted to overturn the will of DC voters.

Now seven members of Council, including Mendelson, are threatening to do the very same thing. pic.twitter.com/K5Z59JBX2E

— One Fair Wage DC (@dconefairwage) July 12, 2018

Bowser has not publicly come out in favor of the repeal, saying on Tuesday that she had yet to see the legislation. Still, her office opposes what Meadows and Palmer are doing.

“There is no good reason for Congressmen who don’t represent Washingtonians or our values to meddle in our local issues, particularly when there is so much happening at the federal level requiring their focus,” said Anu Rangappa, her communications director, over email.

Kathy Hollinger of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington similarly told the Post she opposed Congressional interference.

The council will consider the repeal effort when it returns from summer recess in September.

More:
Seven Councilmembers Co-Introduce Bill To Repeal Tipped Minimum Wage Ballot Initiative
D.C. Councilmembers Planning Bill To Repeal Initiative 77
10 Things You Should Know About Initiative 77 And The 2018 D.C. Primary
D.C. Voters Approve Initiative 77, Ballot Measure That Eliminates Tipped Wage
Initiative 77 Doesn’t Just Affect Servers. Why Haven’t We Heard From Delivery Drivers, Nail Technicians, Bellhops, And Others?
You’ve Heard Of Initiatives 71 and 77. What Happened To 72-76?