The bill is the third attack on DC’s budget autonomy in less than two years.
Erica Williams
(she/her)
Executive Director
Erica leads DCFPI in achieving its mission to shape racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions for an antiracist, equitable future. She brings nearly two decades of experience in pursuing racial, gender, and economic justice through public policy, grounded in how fiscal and economic policies can advance or impede justice. Driven by her own lived experience, Erica holds a deep commitment to antiracism, equity, and inclusion and is committed to centering Black and brown lived experiences in DCFPI’s pursuit of equity and justice. Prior to joining DCFPI, Erica was Vice President for State Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a Study Director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Erica holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Spanish studies from Santa Clara University and a master’s degree in international policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
Recent posts by Erica Williams
DC Voters are Ready for Serious Investments in Child Care. It’s Time for the Mayor and Council to Listen.
by Erica Williams and Kimberly Perry
The current budget cuts will leave thousands of working families and single parents without affordable child care and could result in higher tuition costs or early childhood workers taking their talents elsewhere
Council Must Use All the Tools at Its Disposal, Including New Revenue, to Protect the Safety Net
DC faces the biggest local safety net cuts of a generation that will harm people, slow recovery, and hamper the economy.
Mayor Bowser’s Proposed FY 2027 Budget Runs Counter to Stated Goal of Economic Growth
The mayor claims that her proposed investments are focused on job growth, but in fact guts pay for child care workers, whose work also help parents can go to work.
DC Can Raise $121 Million or More with a Simple Tax on Proceeds from Wealth
Applying a surcharge on proceeds generated from wealth is a simple way for DC to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to help struggling residents withstand the local recession and drastic federal and local safety net cuts.
25 Years In, DCFPI Has Built a Strong Foundation for the Road Ahead
We’re standing with community to build an economy that works for everyone, from the bottom up and the middle out, and to fight for DC’s full autonomy through statehood. Our dreams for a racially- and economically-just DC are not lost as long as we fight for them.
DC Council Should Restore the DC Child Tax Credit and Baby Bonds Program
Chairperson McDuffie and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Erica Williams, executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. DCFPI is a nonprofit organization that shapes racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions...
Raising Revenue Is An Urgent and Practical Approach to Reducing the Harm of DC’s Recession
DC lawmakers need a balanced approach to the recession that includes raising revenue to minimize budget cuts
US House Details its Cruel Plan to Take Food and Health Care from the Poor to Give to the Rich
The US House Budget Committee punted on a vote today to very literally take from people who are poor to give to the rich—a plan which, if successful, will do massive damage to the health and well-being of people, communities, and economies all across the country and in the District for decades to come.
Raising Revenue Could Help Stabilize DC’s Credit Ratings
This week, Moody’s Ratings downgraded slightly DC’s triple A bond status. In the face of federal threats and slowing revenue growth, DC lawmakers should make use of a key policy tool well within their control—the ability to raise revenue.
Cuts to Federal Food Assistance Will Hurt Residents Just As DC Enters Recession
by Erica Williams and LaMonika Jones
More than 140,000 residents of the District of Columbia are at risk of not having enough to eat if the proposals in Congress to make substantial cuts to the nation’s primary food assistance program are not defeated.
House Republicans Set the Stage to Slash Health and Food Assistance to Give Massive Tax Cuts to the Wealthy
If Congress ultimately follows this plan, many tens of millions of Americans—including hundreds of thousands of DC residents—will not receive the medical care they need, go hungry, and experience increased hardship, all so the rich get richer. DC leaders will need to do everything in their power to maintain economic stability for residents.
DC Can Do More to Ensure Tax System is Fair
Chairperson McDuffie and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Erica Williams, and I am the Executive Director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) and a former appointee to the DC Tax Revision Commission (TRC). DCFPI...
A Business Activity Tax Would Make DC’s Tax System More Equitable While Raising Revenue
by Tazra Mitchell, Erica Williams and Nick Johnson
By enacting a Business Activity Tax—a new, simple, broad-based value-added tax, DC would make business taxation fairer and more racially equitable while raising significant revenue for the District.
DC Council Makes Progress but Fails to Raise Adequate Revenue for Critical Programs at First Budget Vote
by Erica Williams and Nikki Metzgar
Even while reversing many of Mayor Bowser’s proposed cuts, the DC Council gave initial approval to a fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget that leaves major holes in the District’s safety net, particularly in the areas of housing and ending homelessness.
Claims that DC Spending is “Out of Control” are Wrong
While DC government should always pursue effective and efficient spending as a matter of course, common claims that the District needs to “right size” its spending, or that budget growth is out of control, aren’t rooted in reality.
Mayor’s Proposed FY25 Budget Would Set Back Progress. DC Council Does Not Have to Follow Suit.
Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee of the Whole, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony. My name is Erica Williams, and I am the executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) where we shape racially-just tax, budget, and...
DC Must Grow Revenue and Spending to Pursue More Transformative Change
Public spending through the budget is the foundation of a strong economy. Taxes and other sources of revenue make up the collective resources the District needs to maintain roads and reliable public transportation, create affordable housing and wealth building...
District Child Tax Credit Bill is a Tool for Tackling Child Poverty and Should be Strengthened
Chairperson McDuffie and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony on B25-0190, “District Child Tax Credit Amendment Act of 2023.” My name is Erica Williams, and I am the executive director at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute...
Top 5 Percent of DC Earners Pay Lower Share of Income in Taxes than Bottom 95 Percent
by Erica Williams and Nikki Metzgar
Tax advantages for residents at the top privilege white residents—who account for the vast majority of DC’s richest residents—and serve to concentrate their wealth. This comes at the expense of public investments in underserved communities that advance racial justice.