The non-profit DC Appleseed issued a report today that calls on the federal government to provide the District of Columbia a minimum of $1 billion annually in general federal funding. The 120-page report [PDF] quantifies the amount of tax-based revenue the District perpetually lacks compared to other major American cities, what the GAO has termed the city’s “structural deficit,” and argues that Congress is obligated to make up the difference because it is responsible for the rules which create that deficit in the first place. (The Examiner and D.C. Wire both have more).

Among the federally imposed regulations cited by the report that are charged with creating the structural deficit are that: the city lacks the revenue raising capacity of states, which can redistribute tax revenue from other areas to its major cities; the city is prohibited by Congress from collecting income tax from non-residents; the federal government itself, the city’s largest single industry, does not pay taxes.

We’re still reading through the whole report, which makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the fiscal history of D.C. One thing that strikes me so far, though, is that the overall argument that the federal government is obligated to be more involved, at least financially, in the District could end up thwarting the arguments of those, like Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who are fighting for budget and legislative autonomy. Let’s say the next Congress buys into Appleseed’s argument that they ought to be doing more to ensure that Washington is a “great city,” and coughs up the dough. Won’t they want to have even more say in how that dough gets spent?