Brooke's Briefing: Save Medicaid and Bring the Commanders Home to DC

<< Newsroom
Posted by
S. Manning
on
May 5, 2025
Brooke Pinto - DC Council - Ward 2

Dear Neighbor,

As our community continues to grapple with the warp speed changes to our federal workforce and our economy, many of our neighbors are experiencing hardship. I am working every day with my colleagues and our federal partners to offer additional support, new tools, and new job offerings for our residents.

On Friday, I joined my Council colleagues, Mayor Bowser, DC hospitals and healthcare partners, and dozens of neighbors at Children’s National Hospital to call on Congress to leave Medicaid alone. The Congressional proposal to cut the federal contribution to DC Medicaid by over $1 billion would undermine our entire healthcare system impacting everyone who lives or visits the District in need of healthcare services. We must all stand up and ensure Congress doesn’t cut Medicaid in the District.

We are also continuing the important work of keeping our communities safe. Today, I am holding a public safety walk in Ward 2 to hear from folks about what you would like to see to promote sustainable peace in our community. It’s part of my ongoing effort to pass, fund, and implement my Peace DC plan, which will continue to drive down crime and promote peace. You can sign up to join us by clicking here. Our Ward 2 walk comes after I held a Ward 7 Public Safety Walk and Ward 8 Public Safety Forum last month. On Wednesday, I’ll be holding a Ward 1 Public Safety Walk with my Ward 1 colleague Councilmember Brianne Nadeau.

Last week, Mayor Bowser and the Commanders announced that they have reached a deal which lays out a strong framework for the return of our football team to bring them home to DC where they belong! The new development at the RFK campus will be the vanguard for housing, retail, hotels, and play space for our families and students. Welcoming the Washington Commanders back to DC is not only good for the team and football, but it’s also an investment in our city’s spirit, in economic development, and in a future for our city that makes us all proud.

I was honored to join my Council colleagues, the Mayor, the Commanders owner Josh Harris, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at last week’s historic announcement. The Commanders have committed to making the largest private investment in DC in our history. I look forward to engaging with the public and my Council colleagues during the budget process to ensure the strongest deal possible for District residents! I joined 106.7 The Fan to talk about this important investment and you can listen here.

Yours in Service,

Brooke

Upcoming Events

Please join us for a range of upcoming events in our community:

Peace DC Plan Hearings

The Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety (JPS) held public hearings on April 23rd and April 24th to discuss Councilmember Pinto’s Peace DC plan.

The April 23rd hearing included testimony from more than 70 public witnesses. We heard about the need to support and strengthen our Safe Passage program to ensure students can get safely to and from school with improved coordination and training, the need to ensure justice-involved youth have the resources and support they need to succeed, and other great ideas and reccomendations to promote peace.

During these hearings, we discussed the following proposal and bills:

  1. Proposed merger of the District’s violence interruption programs
  2. B26-188, “Pretrial Detention Amendment Act of 2025”
  3. B26-204 “Safe Passage Training and School Engagement Amendment Act of 2025”
  4. B26-186 “Justice-Involved Youth in Community Act of 2025”
  5. B26-027 “Case Closure and Witness Support Amendment Act of 2025”
  6. B26-187 “Metropolitan Police Department Training Academy College Credit Opportunity Amendment Act of 2025”
  7. B26-189 “Residential Tranquility Amendment Act of 2025”
  8. B26-203, “Kidnapping Amendment Act of 2025”

The April 24th hearing included seven DC and federal government officials. The Committee will also hold an upcoming roundtable on the proposed merger of the violence interruption programs outlined in Peace DC, which will include government witnesses.  

Over the last two weeks, Councilmember Pinto and Team Pinto have met with residents, advocacy groups, and District officials in Ward 2 and across the District, including:

Parks Reopened

The park located at New Jersey Avenue NW and O Street NW has reopened after undergoing a renovation. The park has new paving, seating, lighting and landscaping, as well as new bench swings and a climbing structure.

Further north on New Jersey Avenue NW at S Street NW a new, small park has opened as part of the S Street NW Revitalization Project, which was implemented to improve safety, mobility and connectivity in Shaw.  

LISTEN TO 106.7 THE FAN: Councilmember Pinto joined the Grant and Danny show on 106.7 The Fan to discuss the transformational plan to bring the Commanders home to DC. The deal includes a new stadium with more than 200 activation days a year, more than 6,000 housing units, and retail, restaurant, and play space.

WATCH WUSA9: “Council holds meetings to move forward with Peace DC safety plan”

“The DC Council is holding two days of hearings on the new Peace DC plan aimed at reducing crime, recruiting public safety personnel, and making neighborhoods safer. The head of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, proposed this plan as a build on last year's Secure DC. In a series of bills, it focuses on empowering young people and strengthening neighborhood harmony by setting up young people for success and improving guardrails for deferred prosecutions; preventing violence by merging the District's violence interruption programs and improving training, oversight, and coordination; supporting public safety workforce by creating new retention measures for police and firefighters; and reducing recidivism by creating pathways for formerly incarcerated people to reenter communities with stable housing and gainful employment.”

READ THE WASHINGTON POST: “D.C. Council split on whether to support bringing Commanders to RFK”

“The deal’s supporters on the council also want certain guarantees as it moves forward. Pinto said she wanted the development to create more jobs for people returning from prison or jail, who can face employment barriers that make it harder to get on a positive trajectory. “I really want to make sure that our returning citizen community, which is 1 in 7 District residents, can benefit from job opportunities at this site,” Pinto said, adding she would advocate not just for construction jobs for those residents but also in hospitality and retail after the development is complete.”

READ WASHINGTON EXAMINER: “Commanders stadium deal faces split opinions on DC Council”

“Councilman Wendell Felder, who represents Ward 7, where the RFK Stadium site is, said he is “thrilled” to support the deal, which he heralded as a “historic and exciting moment for the District of Columbia.” Councilwoman Brooke Pinto also called the deal a “major turning point” for the development of the long-vacant site. “I am thrilled that the District and the Commanders have set out a strong framework for the return of our football team to return home to DC where they belong! The new development at the RFK campus will be the vanguard for housing, retail, hotels, and play space for our families and students,” Pinto said in a statement.”  

Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Ward 2

• Chairwoman, Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety
• Committee on Business and Economic Development
• Committee on Housing
• Committee on Youth Affairs

Address: 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 106 | Washington, DC 20004

Call: (202) 724-8058 | Contact Us: www.brookepintodc.com/help

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