Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act Passes House

U.S. House of Representatives



Washington, D.C. - September 14, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- The Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act has passed the House. Keith Rothfus (R-PA, 12th) had this to say:

“This is the first time the House has passed all 12 appropriations bills with open input from its members before the September 30th deadline since 2004. This is an objective that I have long supported,” said Congressman Rothfus. “This year’s spending bills include many important provisions such as protections for the sanctity of life, increased funding for our military, and significant reforms to our financial services sector. The bills also provide funding for our veterans, programs to combat the opioid epidemic, and cancer research.”

He added: “The time for the Senate to act is now. Waiting until the continuing resolution runs out in December is irresponsible and dangerous for our country.”

Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, on Tuesday condemned the decision by House Majority leadership to block an amendment to H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. The amendment, offered by Representatives Ruppersberger, Serrano, Khanna, Grisham, Jeffries, and Meng, would have offered $10 million in supplemental funding to state and local governments to dismantle and fight domestic white supremacist organizations.

“It’s unbelievable that House leadership refused to even consider our common sense measure that would empower local police to identify and dismantle radical hate groups across the nation,” Congressman Ruppersberger said. “In the last year, we’ve seen the resurgence of white supremacists and other hate groups in the public sphere who have hate in their hearts and the goal of hurting innocent Americans. The events in Charlottesville demonstrated the tragedy that can come at the hands of these well-organized and well-armed white supremacy groups. It’s unfortunate and beyond disappointing that my colleagues are unwilling to recognize this threat to our American values.”

U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08) released the following statement:

“For the past several months, the House has been working around the clock to craft common-sense spending policies that secure our borders, provide for the common defense, invest in our country’s infrastructure, and spur economic growth,” said Rep. Scott. “While this legislation is certainly a step in the right direction in reining in and cutting wasteful government spending, I will not stop pushing for continued efforts and reforms.”

Included in passage of H.R. 3354 is an amendment authored by Rep. Scott supporting multi-national efforts to reduce the flow of drugs from Central and South America into the U.S. by providing training and technical assistance to partners in the hemisphere to enhance regional security capabilities. Rep. Scott commented:

“As it is here in the U.S., local law enforcement often serves as the foundation for interdiction and counter-drug operations in Central American and Caribbean countries,” said Rep. Scott. “By increasing funding for training and assistance activities conducted by Colombian police and military forces, we enable Colombia to train even more regional police forces to function independently and efficiently, addressing the threats transnational criminal organizations pose on our country and bolstering our successful partnerships to tackle the narcotics issue and save the lives of countless Americans.”

Ahead of a vote on his amendment last week, Rep. Scott spoke on the House Floor urging his colleagues to support the measure. Click here to watch his remarks.

This legislation included Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bills for several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of the Treasury, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Social Security Administration, and Department of Transportation Housing and Urban Development, among others.

U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Rules, released the following statement after supporting the passage of all 12 appropriations bills:

“Under Republican leadership in the House, we have effectively held the line on spending while responsibly funding the government. Today the House once again upheld our constitutional duty by passing all 12 spending bills. I strongly supported this package because it includes important conservative policies that override years of destructive Obama-era regulations. From cutting the EPA to below 2006 funding levels, to stopping the enforcement of the Department of Labor’s harmful and misguided Fiduciary Rule, to reining in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to putting an end to the IRS’ previous practices of targeting conservative groups, these are just a few of the ways this bill rights the many wrongs of the past eight years. Additionally, in light of the recent catastrophic hurricanes in my home state of Texas and in the south, this bill also ensures that FEMA has the resources they need to continue addressing the many needs of these devastated communities.

“I applaud Chairman Frelinghuysen and his entire team’s diligence and hard work throughout this process. I believe he produced a sound product that was bolstered by the 468 amendments that we made in order at the Rules Committee. While I understand the Senate moves at a slower pace than we do, I sincerely hope that they can move this critical package so we can implement these conservative policies and get our country back on track.”

To learn more about H.R. 3354, Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, click here.

Congressional Leaders Condemn Anti-Choice Provisions in 2018 Appropriations Bills

Source: House Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY, 25th)

Washington, D.C. - September 5, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-25) and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-1), co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, and Nita Lowey (NY-17), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, condemned the anti-choice provisions included in Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bills as Congress considers these measures this week. There are an unprecedented number of anti-women provisions included in this legislation and additional amendments offered that attack women’s health and the constitutionally-protected right to choose. These attacks come despite the fact that members of the Pro-Choice Caucus have been instrumental in helping pass every bill to fund the government since 2011.



“We are in the midst of an unprecedented attack on women’s health care rights. From trying to zero out Title X family planning funding to eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood, there is apparently no length the Majority won’t go to attack the women of this country. Republican leaders in Congress are playing with fire by including these amendments given that members of the Pro-Choice Caucus have been needed to pass every bill to fund the government for the last six years. That support is being put at risk by the Majority’s decision to include these provisions. There is an easy fix, and that is for the Majority to remove them from these bills. Anti-women provisions have no place in any government funding bill,” said Slaughter.

“This year we have seen repeated Republican efforts to attack and undermine women’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care. Our fight is far from over,” said DeGette. “The House Republicans’ appropriations minibus is riddled with arbitrary and offensive anti-woman policies. The Pro-Choice Caucus strongly opposes these shameful riders and will not allow them to be included in any government funding bill.”

"The 2018 appropriations bills represent a sustained and multi-faceted assault on women's health care," said Lowey. “These bills go far beyond the majority's floundering effort to strip health insurance from 20 million people by repealing the Affordable Care Act. With funding cuts and terminations, and poison pill riders targeting women's legal health choices, contraception, and family planning at home and abroad, the majority is making clear they will stop at nothing to attack women's health care."