WASHINGTON (AP) — Police arrested Washington's mayor and D.C. council members who were protesting restrictions placed upon the district as part of the federal budget deal.
Mayor Vincent Gray and others sat down and blocked the street in front of a Senate office building Monday. They chanted and shouted, "Hey, hey, no, no, those D.C. riders have got to go."
About 30 people were arrested, including Council Chairman Kwame Brown.
Congress oversees D.C.'s budget and laws and can pull funding for programs it doesn't like during the budgeting process.
Under the deal reached Friday to avert a government shutdown, the district likely will be unable to spend local taxpayer dollars on abortions for low-income women. It may also be barred from spending city money on needle exchange programs.
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