Pocan Votes to Fund Government for Remainder of FY24

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, voted to advance the remaining six appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), allowing the government to continue operating through the end of the fiscal year.

“Passing the minibus ensured we didn’t shut down the U.S. government or enact dozens of extreme policy riders or deep cuts the Republican majority tried to force. These measures include expanding access to child care, keeping workers safe, and giving our troops a raise. Any inaction toward this bill could have shut down the government, allowing the GOP leadership to give us a bill that would have been worse, riddled with extreme priorities. House Democrats played the best hand with the cards we were dealt.

“I’m not supportive of some provisions in this bill, including a delay of additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). This is a continuation of the Administration’s current policy toward the agency which must be overturned. I support immediately providing much-needed funding toward the agency and will continue my work to do just that.”

By passing the bill, Democrats rejected many extreme Republican cuts and policy riders. Instead, this government funding package provides:

• $1 billion increase for child care and Head Start.
• $20 million increase for Title I education funding, rejecting Republican efforts to eliminate 224,000 teachers’ jobs.
• $14 million increase in funding for special education.
• Protects funding for the maximum Pell Grant at $7,395 per student.
• $1.1 billion for Senior Nutrition Programs, which includes Meals on Wheels.
• Increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health, including for cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
• Provides 5.2% pay increase for servicemembers and increases the Basic Allowance for Housing by 5.4%.
• $1 billion increase for climate change and resilience activities.
• Adds 12,000 more Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who assisted the United States.
• Includes $29.9 billion to support the reunification of migrant families cruelly separated at the southern border by the Trump administration.
• Removes numerous Republican policy riders including 10 that would have limited women’s access to reproductive health, 44 that attacked the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, and banned funding for President Biden’s executive orders to address the climate crisis.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for drafting all federal funding legislation, Rep. Pocan looks forward to Wisconsin – and Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District – receiving the funding it needs and deserves.

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

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

A package containing six other appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024, including all of Rep. Pocan’s earmarks, passed the House earlier this month and was signed into law by President Biden on March 9.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.