Photo by B Jones Jr.

Good morning, Washington. The House of Representatives is scheduled to consider the District’s appropriations bill this week — the Committee on Rules first took up the $10.8 billion budget bill yesterday, and floor action on the measure is expected as early as Friday. Now the battle over the measure, which includes a rider which would prevent the District from spending local funds on abortions for low income women, shifts to preventing further social restrictions from being applied to the bill. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has been working the floor hard — even carrying a “Don’t Tread on D.C.” sign — to tell Republicans not to add any more social riders; last night, Mayor Vince Gray released a statement urging Congress to pass a clean appropriations bill. ““For far too long Congress has experimented on the city,” said Gray. “Lawmakers should not impose their will on the District of Columbia through the federal budget process.” The White House chimed in on the bill yesterday as well, stating officially that the abortion rider “undermines the principle of states’ rights and of D.C. home rule.”

What Gives You Pleasure, Ron?: “What I get erections from is helping my people” — that’s the, uh, firmest campaign slogan to date from Ron Moten, the cofounder of Peaceaholics who will run against Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, a 2012 Council election that’s the subject of Loose Lips’ column this week. As universal as concerns over ethics are, Alan Suderman frames the race as a referendum on the Mayor — Alexander, after all, is Gray’s hand-picked successor, will host her first fundraiser at his Hillcrest home later this month, and Moten’s the guy who once chased Gray through a garage to talk to him.

All In One: Is the District asking its firefighters to act as police officers? Sort of, according to the Examiner’s Freeman Klopott, who reports that the city has deployed members of the fire department to keep an eye on street corners on paydays for the Summer Youth Employment Program. See, SYEP youth are routinely the targets of muggers, who know when the teens get their checks — in the latest attempt to curb that crime, the Mayor’s Office has started putting a “uniformed presence” from DCFD on street corners. Both heads of the fire and police unions, not surprisingly, think it’s a bad idea to mix the responsibilities of the two.

Taxi Medallion Bill Dead: Mike DeBonis highlights a testy matter that the Council has so far left undone, days before its members go on break until September: taxi medallions. The bill, which had been sent to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation but buried by then-chair Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) could have possibly been revived by new chair Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) after this week’s reshuffling drama. But Cheh tells DeBonis that she won’t schedule a hearing on the bill.

Not Quite Finished Yet: Thought the Council was finished for the summer? Hold that thought — the body (or, some of them, at least) will get together this evening to approve the designation portions of the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and Independence Avenue SW as “Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.” If approved, drivers will be able to move from Martin Luther King Avenue SE to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE by using the 11th Street Bridge. Nah, that’s not confusing at all.

Briefly Noted: Mom escapes carjacked vehicle by diving out with baby in hand…Collapsed storm drain causing big trouble on 14th Street Bridge…Thunderstorm causes power outages, damage around region yesterday…D.C.’s Office of the People’s Counsel calls Pepco rate raise “horrendous and shameless“…Adrian Fenty gets yet another job…Lydia DePillis slaps down our troublesome neighbors, the U.S. Congress.

This Day in DCist: Last year, Washington was named the most “veg-friendly” city in North America, the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs released a T-less health report and Eleanor Holmes Norton was bringing up the District’s place in Statuary Hall again.