John Horton, DoorDash head of North American policy
The delivery giant DoorDash is trying to cripple District of Columbia’s fiscal self-governance, in response to the D.C. Council’s recent vote to add a twenty-cent fee to third-party deliveries. DoorDash is the lead supporter of the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act (H.R. 9720), which would require a resolution of approval by Congress of any D.C. action under title 47 of the D.C. Code, which covers taxation, licensing, permits, assessments, and fees.
In a letter to House Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Council chair Phil Mendelson excoriated the bill, saying it would “straightjacket the District because it would paralyze our tax code,” as it “applies to both tax increases AND decreases” and would “also freeze our General License Law.” He cited several examples of the specific measures which would be affected, and noted the new revenue restrictions would likely lead to a downgrade of the District’s bond rating.
The bill was also opposed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who submitted a letter saying it “endangers public services in D.C.” as it would “would cause serious, structural challenges for D.C.’s budget and undermines core principles of home rule.” The League of Women Voters opposed the bill as well, calling it “the latest in a long line of attacks on DC’s democracy and the stability of its finances.”
In Wednesday’s House Oversight markup of the bill, Comer cited DoorDash’s support and entered the company’s letter of support into the official record. The markup was packed with local residents opposing the legislation, including D.C. shadow senator Ankit Jain.
Hill Heat has acquired the letter, which was signed by lobbyist John Horton, DoorDash’s head of North American Policy. Horton previously lobbied for the vaping company Juul and for Lyft after working on Capitol Hill for Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), former chair of the House Science Committee. He is a director of the board of LGBTQ+ Victory and of its c(4) arm, LBGTQ+ Victory Action.
Although the legislation applies to all fiscal changes to D.C. code, DoorDash’s Horton misrepresented the bill as requiring congressional approval only “before the District of Columbia can impose or increase a tax or fee.” Horton continued: “We believe this is a reasonable check against the hastily enacted local taxes and fees that fall hardest on small businesses and the residents who depend on them.”
DoorDash has a market capitalization of $81 billion, with $14 billion in annual revenue.
In response to DoorDash’s attack on DC home rule, the Free DC organization has launched a flash campaign encouraging people to boycott the company, delete the DoorDash app, and post screenshots of account cancellations with the hashtag #DeleteDoorDash.
The oversight committee reported H.R. 9720 favorably on a party-line vote of 23 to 20, with Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), and Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) not voting.
Read the DoorDash letter in support of H.R. 9720 in full: