Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) voted to pass a package of six funding bills that helps Americans with the cost of living, protects women’s rights, reinforces America’s global leadership, and helps our communities be safe and secure.
“Despite the extremism and dysfunction of House Republicans, we’ve finally come together to pass government funding packages that deliver for Virginia kids and families and avoid devastating cuts to programs that all Americans rely on,” said Congresswoman Wexton. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I’m proud to have worked to successfully include priorities for our district in this legislation like funding for childhood cancer research, measures to crack down on forced labor, and resources to benefit children’s mental health and safety online. It is essential that this package moves forward quickly to avoid a devastating government shutdown.”
This Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 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. The package funds the six bills at levels consistent with the bipartisan budget agreement.
Highlights of strong investments for American families in the funding package include:
$1 billion increase for child care and Head Start $120 million increase in funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health $100 million increase in funding for Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias research Rejecting Republican cuts, including saving 224,000 teachers’ jobs that House Republicans tried to eliminate and protecting Job Corps and more than 20 K-12 higher education programs Blocking 10 Republican riders to limit women’s reproductive freedoms Additional 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans that assisted the United States $1 billion increase in climate change and resilience activities at the Department of Defense 5.2% pay raise for all servicemembers and sustains a 5.2% pay raise for civilian federal employees
The package also includes support for several of Wexton’s priorities, including:
$15 million for research into technology and social media’s cognitive, physical, and socioemotional impacts on children and adolescent's mental health and development, which Wexton has championed as founder of the Task Force on Digital Citizenship $12.6 million for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program $20 million for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to continue efforts to combat forced labor practices $174 million for School-Based Mental Health Services Grants and Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants, an increase of $74 million above fiscal year 2023, which will help support new awards $13 million for Pediatric Mental Health Care Access which helps address the pervasive shortages of child and adolescent mental/behavioral health care, including in Virginia $20 million for Mental Health Crisis Response Grants, which support programs to help divert individuals in need of mental health crisis services from the criminal justice system and into mental health treatment $2 million for the National Child Abuse Hotline to provide resources and intervention for youth and families impacted by child abuse and neglect $400 million for the Countering the People's Republic of China (PRC) Influence Fund, an increase of $75 million above fiscal year 2023, to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific by providing over $1.8 billion to help counter the growing influence of the PRC in developing countries $867 million for the United States Agency for Global Media, protecting access to accurate and timely news to people internationally including through $43.5 million for the Open Technology Fund to advance internet freedom
The funding package now moves onto the Senate, where it must then be passed and sent to the President to avoid a partial government shutdown. A detailed summary of the legislation is available here .
A package containing six other appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024 passed the House earlier this month and was signed into law by President Biden on March 9.
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