Woonsocket Radio News Room

Amo Supports Bipartisan Government Funding Package to Fund Schools, National Security and Health Programs

 

WASHINGTON, D.C — Today, Congressman Amo (RI-01) issued the following statement after voting in favor of a the second six-bill government funding package that supports hard working Rhode Islanders, protects women’s rights, reinforces America’s global leadership, and helps keep our communities safe and secure:

 

“With today’s vote, I am proud we are overcoming extreme, right-wing obstructionism to move forward on avoiding a possible government shutdown,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “This legislation will invest in our education and health programs, support hard working people, and reinforce America’s global leadership. From the child care and Head Start programs, to the jobs supported by our defense industrial base and the long term care programs we fund in this bill, I know that these smart investments will better Rhode Islanders at every stage of life. Time and time again, House Democrats have put people over politics to keep our nation safe. I will continue to denounce the dysfunction of the Republican House majority that feeds instability around the world by blocking our consideration of the bipartisan Senate supplemental national security funding bill for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.”

 

This package includes the following funding bills: Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. It would:

 

• Lowers child care costs for families and strengthens Head Start with a new $1 billion investment to help families in every zip code afford child care and help ensure Head Start can continue serving hundreds of thousands of kids each year.

• Protects workers’ rights and helps ensure they get the paychecks they have earned by protecting funding for essential worker protection agencies and the National Labor Relations Board.

• Invests in students at every stage of their education and sustains essential investments in our nation’s public schools by delivering resources for our public K-12 schools, Pell Grants, and more—and rejecting devastating cuts that would have forced teachers out of our nation’s K-12 classrooms.

• Keeps our country safe and supports our servicemembers and military families with essential investments in our national defense and important additional support for those who serve our country in uniform.

• Builds on our historic economic recovery and supports small businesses.

• Supports people’s health, strengthens the health care workforce, and guards against public health threats, rejecting dangerous cuts and sustaining all manner of investments in patients’ health.

• Propels cutting-edge biomedical research to discover and create new treatments and cures that save lives and give people more time with their loved ones.

• Invests in mental health care and research and strengthens the 988 lifeline—sustaining and building upon key investments made in recent years.

• Protects consumers and holds fraudsters and rich tax cheats accountable to help even the playing field and keep growing our economy from the middle out.

• Combats the flow of fentanyl, strengthens our detection and enforcement capabilities, and invests in substance use disorder treatment and prevention to address the opioid crisis that continues to devastate communities.

• Delivers critical resources to help meet operational needs at our southern border.

• Maintains America’s global leadership and upholds our commitments to our allies and partners to promote our own national security and strengthen our competitiveness.

• Supports our Afghan allies by authorizing an additional 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghans who assisted the U.S. government during the war in Afghanistan.

• Increases base funding for humanitarian assistance to support the United States’ efforts to provide emergency food, shelter, water, and basic services to populations caught in conflict and crises across the globe.

The text of the legislation can be found here. A summary of the legislation can be found here. 

Individual subcommittee summaries are below:

• Defense: Summary | Explanatory Statement

• Financial Services and General Government: Summary | Explanatory Statement

• Homeland Security: Summary | Explanatory Statement

• Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies: Summary | Explanatory Statement

• Legislative Branch: Summary | Explanatory Statement

• State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Summary | Explanatory Statement