WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S House of representatives voted on two legislative packages containing all 12 fiscal year 2020 funding bills: the domestic priorities and international assistance minibus, H.R. 1865: Labor-Health and Human Services-Education, Agriculture, Energy and Water Development, Interior-Environment, Legislative Branch, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, State-Foreign Operations, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (LHHS); and the national security appropriations minibus, H.R. 1158: Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial Services and General Government, and Homeland Security (DHS/DOD). Congresswoman Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement following the full House vote:

“Today I am voting YES on the Domestic Priorities funding package and NO on the DHS/DOD funding package.

“The Domestic Priorities funding package secures record investments in health care and child care assistance, Title I funding for schools serving our highest need scholars, Pell Grants that help families afford college and combat the student debt crisis, and historic NIH and CDC funding to study gun violence as the public health epidemic it is.

“I remain disappointed however that this funding bill includes the Hyde Amendment – a discriminatory policy that prevents low income people, particularly women of color, from accessing comprehensive reproductive health care. As a firm believer in reproductive justice and as Chair of the Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, I filed an amendment to strike the Hyde Amendment from the June LHHS funding bill. Though the amendment didn’t pass, I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that Hyde’s days are numbered.

“The DHS/DOD funding bill fails to hold this Administration accountable for their flagrant disregard for our collective safety and wellbeing. This funding agreement provides a $1.4 billion down payment on a wasteful border wall, maintains ICE and CBP funding at record high levels, and fails to meaningfully address these agencies’ consistent patterns of skirting the law. Across the Massachusetts 7^th, our immigrant neighbors live in constant fear of this xenophobic Administration, and as the representative of the 7^th, I could not in good conscious vote to give more money to this Administration’s deportation forces. Consistent with my position, I vehemently believe we must defund ICE and CBP and instead invest in community-based supports for families seeking asylum.”

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