news

Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) voted to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, a package of twelve government funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States. This government funding package also includes emergency supplemental funding to respond to the devastation that recent natural disasters and extreme weather events have left behind and emergency resources to support the Ukrainian people and protect global democracy. The investments in the bill will lower the cost of living for hardworking people, create better-paying jobs, and help communities and families in need.

“I’m proud that this bipartisan government funding bill will make critical investments to lower costs for working families, deliver the support our kids need to succeed, and tackle our nation’s greatest challenges at home and abroad,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I’ve worked hard to bring federal resources back to Virginia, and I’m especially pleased to have secured more than $18 million for key community projects in our district. This legislation delivers for kids and families and small businesses in every community across the country.”

The legislation includes key priorities for the district and Virginia that Wexton fought to secure through her position on the Appropriations Committee, including:

• Assessing how returnship programs, which help experienced workers re-enter the workforce after taking time off – like so many parents did during the pandemic – could strengthen the federal workforce and help attract the best and brightest to public service;
• Analyzing the state of child care for the federal workforce with the goal of improving access and quality of services for all federal employees;
• Updating federal resources for agritourism businesses and studying their educational, recreational, and economic benefits;
• Supporting secure and resilient GPS systems and investments in backup technologies, an issue Wexton has championed on the Committee;
• Funding school-based and pediatric mental health services to increase access and availability of behavioral health services for our kids;
• First ever federal funding totaling $15 million to examine the cognitive, physical, and socioemotional impacts on the health and development of children from technology and social media use, in line with the mission of Wexton’s Congressional Task Force on Digital Citizenship;
• Securing full funding for the lifesaving childhood cancer research being conducted through the Gabriella Miller Kids First program;
• Expanding access to healthy nutritious meals for families, including creating a permanent Summer EBT Program, allowing millions of kids to have access to healthy, nutritious meals during the summer;
• Expanding access to affordable, quality health care to more Americans through enhanced Medicaid funding;
• Aiding Uyghurs and other religious minorities fleeing persecution in China;
• Fully supporting Metro capital funding at $150 million; and
• Securing full funding for the Howard C. “Howie” Liebengood Center for Wellness at the U.S. Capitol Police.

Wexton championed funding for 14 community projects that will directly benefit VA-10 residents. These include:

• $2,100,000 for neighborhood job and entrepreneurship technology and research training centers for Fairfax County teens and young adults
• $1,500,000 for improved access for families to the Fairfax County Early Childhood Development and Learning Program
• $1,000,000 for the Franklin Park to Purcellville Trail improvements
• $820,000 for the George Mason University Tick-Borne Disease Diagnostic Clinic 
• $1,037,519 for the George Mason University Empowered Community Partnership Center for substance use services, treatment, and associated support services
• $2,000,000 for the Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn Metro Station area pedestrian improvements
• $685,000 for the Northern Virginia Community College diesel technology certificate program
• $580,000 for the roundabout construction at Rollins Ford Road and Estate Manor Drive
• $4,000,000 for Route 7 and Route 690 (Hillsboro Road) interchange reconfiguration construction
• $160,000 for the Town of Haymarket stormwater infrastructure assessment
• $1,000,000 for the Tuscarora Crossing affordable housing developments
• $500,000 for the Valley Health System behavioral health professionals training program
• $1,500,000 for renovated and expanded Valley Health System Federally Qualified Health Clinic 
• $1,529,000 for the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education for early childhood educator development programs, including scholarships

This government funding bill:

• Lowers the cost of living for hardworking people: Reduces costs by expanding child care and early learning programs to more working families, investing in America’s K-12 public schools, making college more affordable, bolstering our public health infrastructure, and protecting consumers. 
• Creates better-paying jobs: Creates better-paying jobs by putting people to work rebuilding our infrastructure, helping small businesses grow and thrive, fostering the green energy jobs of tomorrow, and supporting high-quality job training and apprenticeship programs so every American can contribute and succeed.
• Helps communities and families in need: Supports people struggling to make ends meet by strengthening nutrition assistance, funding more affordable housing, fighting urgent health disparities, supporting our Veterans, and investing in rural broadband.
• Keeps our nation and our communities safe: Strengthens our national security and keeps our communities safe with robust defense funding for training and equipment to prepare for future threats and support our allies in their efforts to defend democracy and investments in diplomacy and global development, our public health infrastructure, cybersecurity, local, state, and federal law enforcement, and funding for responsible border and maritime security.
• Protects our environment: Confronts the threat of climate change through environmental enforcement and environmental justice efforts, historic investments in clean energy and climate science, and leadership in the global fight against climate change.
• Funds community projects: Responds directly to pressing needs in VA-10 by supporting underserved areas and fostering the economic development that makes communities healthier, safer, and stronger through community projects.

The bill also includes supplemental funding in response to the devastation that recent natural disasters and extreme weather events have left behind and helps families, small businesses, and entire communities get back on their feet and repair damaged infrastructure. It also provides necessary emergency funding to support the Ukrainian people and protect global democracy in the face of Russia’s continued and brutal invasion of Ukraine. Putin’s unyielding pursuit of power has led to a grievous loss of life and humanitarian devastation. Russia has committed countless war crimes, and this bill provides the Ukrainian people with the help they desperately need.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

###