DC councilwoman who celebrated 'sanctuary city' status complains her city has become a 'border town' — and blames Republicans



Washington, D.C., Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D) complained Thursday that her city has become a "border town" as thousands of migrants flood the city.

Ironically, Nadeau celebrated Washington, D.C., adopting a "sanctuary city" status just three years ago.

What happened?

At a press conference, Nadeau blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for busing thousands of migrants to the nation's capital.

"So it’s been said, but it’s worth reiterating that the governors of Texas and Arizona have created this crisis and the federal government has not stepped up to assist the District of Columbia," Nadeau said.

"In many ways the governors, Texas and Arizona have turned us into a border town," she later declared.

Mayor Bowser Establishes Office of Migrant Services, 9/8/22 youtu.be

Nadeau's laughable comments — made despite Washington, D.C., being more than 2,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border — were made at the same press conference where D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency over the influx of migrants.

To accommodate the migrants, Bowser announced the formation of the Office of Migrant Services.

In response to the border crisis — in which millions of migrants have poured into the U.S. under President Joe Biden's leadership — Abbott and Ducey began sending migrants to D.C., New York City, and Chicago earlier this year. All of the Democrat-run cities have bemoaned the flood of migrants despite being sanctuary cities.

But what did Nadeau say before?

For years, the nation's capital has been a "sanctuary city" for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Despite now decrying her city as a "border town," Nadeau celebrated D.C.'s "sanctuary city" status three years ago when she reiterated her demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement be abolished.

"The District is a sanctuary city, which means our law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE," she said. "As Councilmember, I have called for an abolition of ICE and wrote DC’s law to establish a permanent immigrant legal services fund."

\u201cThe District is a sanctuary city, which means our law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE. As Councilmember, I have called for an abolition of ICE and wrote DC\u2019s law to establish a permanent immigrant legal services fund. \nRead full remarks here: https://t.co/D6hi9Tf24G\u201d
— Brianne K. Nadeau (@Brianne K. Nadeau) 1561473783

Anything else?

Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, who has extensively covered the border crisis, pointed out that Nadeau's assertion that D.C. is a border town is "ridiculous."

As Melugin pointed out, more migrants enter major border cities in one week than have entered D.C. during the entire crisis.

"A ridiculous statement. Washington D.C., a metro of 700,000 people, has had about 8,000 migrants dropped off by the state of Texas over a span of 4-5 MONTHS," Melugin reacted. "Eagle Pass, TX, a population of 30,000, gets 10,000 migrants in a single WEEK. D.C. is no border town."

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DC Democrats propose new sugary drink tax to address 'health inequities'



Lawmakers in the nation's capital are proposing enacting a new tax on sugary drinks, hoping that forcing consumers to pay more for products they want will deter them from consuming sugary beverages.

What are the details?

Democrat Brianne Nadeau, a member of the Washington, D.C., city council, introduced a measure Tuesday that would enact an excise tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on beverages the city government considers "sugary drinks."

The legislation would repeal an existing 8% sales tax on sugary drinks, which is 2% higher than the existing sales tax in Washington.

Enacting the sugary drink tax would "begin rectifying longstanding health inequities made even more apparent by the COVID-19 pandemic."

"One thing that COVID-19 has made abundantly clear is that we need to get serious about addressing health inequities in the District," Nadeau said in a press release.

Mary Cheh, a council member who sponsored the bill, told WTOP-TV, "This excise tax would go right on the product. Thereby making it apparent to the purchaser that it is more expensive than it was."

Additionally, the legislation seeks to address "chronic diseases associated with the consumption of sugary drinks," childhood obesity related to the chronic consumption of sugary drinks, and homelessness in Washington.

The press release explains:

The legislation takes important steps toward providing equitable access to nutritious food for District residents experiencing homelessness by requiring that meals served at the District's shelters and transitional housing are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and by applying greater oversight over food service vendors. It also establishes grants to support nutrition education, cooking lessons, and gardens at family shelters and transitional housing to create healthy environments.

District lawmakers first considered the sugary drink tax in 2019, but the proposal ultimately failed.

How have similar taxes faired?

Nadeau claimed similar taxes — such as those enacted in Philadelphia or Berkeley — are evidence of their success.

However, multiple studies discovered that, while sales of sugary drinks decrease in cities that levy the per ounce excise tax, sales in neighboring municipalities simultaneously increase, indicating that residents impacted by sugary drink taxes still buy sugary drinks — they just travel to get a cheaper deal.

Philadelphia, for example, became the second U.S. city to enact a sugary drink tax in 2017. Medical journal JAMA found that sales of sugary drinks tumbled 51% during the first year of the tax, but sales increased in towns and counties adjacent to Philadelphia, at least partially offsetting the decrease in Philadelphia sales.

Research conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research came to the same conclusion.

However, the NBER also concluded that Philadelphia's sugary tax drink did not positively impact the overall health of adults or children.

"The tax did not have a substantial effect on the frequency of adults' consumption of other beverages. We generally do not find detectable effects of the tax on children's consumption of beverages," researchers said.