On March 14, 2025, Executive Director Yesim Sayin was quoted in Commercial Observer:
The District has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to programs and city agencies that it can’t nix without serious consequences, according to Yesim Sayin, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center.
That includes $110 million added to D.C.’s debt service in 2025, non-payment of which would be disastrous for the city’s bond rating, as well as $90 million in added pension contributions. Non-payment of those commitments would raise questions about D.C.’s ability to control its own finances, Sayin said.
“It is very difficult and I don’t know how we’re going to do it,” Sayin told Commercial Observer. “I really would not want to be the mayor, any of the council members or the [chief financial officer] for the city right now. They have a tremendously difficult job on their hands.”
Read More: D.C. Faces $1B Budget Cut After Senate Passes National Spending Bill
Additional reading: District of Columbia: A fiscal crisis revisited