DeLauro Statement on Changes to the Community Project Funding Process

February 28, 2023
Press Release

Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) released the following statement on the majority’s decision to exclude the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG); Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS); and Defense Subcommittees from the Community Project Funding process:

“I am saddened by the majority’s guidance on Community Project Funding (CPF). It is unfortunate that they have chosen to prevent Members of the House from requesting CPFs in the FSGG, LHHS, and Defense bills. This is not about Democrats or Republicans. It is about communities that need federal support. By excluding these subcommittees, they are decreasing opportunities for Members to help people in their districts and to meet urgent needs directly.

“As the Ranking Member on the LHHS Subcommittee, I am particularly disappointed by the exclusion of projects in this bill. In fiscal year 2023, 1,309 House projects were funded through the LHHS bill, of which hundreds were requested by Republicans. We are talking about health centers and organizations like the Cullman Regional Medical Center in Alabama, the Oklahoma Blood Institute, and East Tennessee Children's Hospital. We were able to help community colleges and other postsecondary institutions like the University of Miami, Texas A&M University, and Northeast Iowa Community College. These groups received this critical funding last year thanks to requests made by House Members but will not have the opportunity to do so this year. 

“All the projects included in the final funding packages over the last two years started with demonstrated community need. People on both sides of the aisle agreed that the process we created to govern CPFs last Congress worked. The Bipartisan Policy Center recently concluded, ‘The 117th Congress restored members’ directed spending in a fiscally and ethically responsible manner by instituting transparency and accountability reforms that make the practice more resistant to the abuses of the past.’

“We should be building upon this success and continuing the practices that worked, not decreasing the availability of resources that have benefited our communities.”

118th Congress