DeLauro Statement on Partisan Changes to the Community Project Funding Process

WASHINGTON – Today, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) issued the following statement on partisan politics infecting the historically bipartisan community project funding process:

“I have long said that Members know their communities best. When I brought Community Project Funding back in 2021, I ensured transparency and accountability while enabling Members to meet the direct, immediate needs of our constituents effectively and efficiently. 

“It is outrageous that Republicans are needlessly using their radical opposition to abortion and stem cell research to undermine Members’ ability to meet their communities’ needs. Separate restrictions on non-profit eligibility continue a pattern of choking off support for non-profits like local YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs. This hurts what has historically been a productive, bipartisan process.

“It is a shame that House Republicans are tying the hands of every House Member to meet the needs of their community, while the Senate remains free to support their communities in the bipartisan fashion that has been so successful. My House Republican colleagues seem eager to give up their ability to deliver for their constituents and instead leave it to their Senators to decide where that support goes.”

The fiscal year 2027 Republican guidance would block community project funds from going to non-profit organizations with few exceptions. Additionally, health clinics across the country will be barred from receiving federal funding to serve cancer patients, or provide maternity care, or pediatric health care, if the health clinic also provides or simply makes referrals for comprehensive reproductive health services to its patients. The guidance also blocks funds for health clinics if they conduct stem cell research or provide gender-affirming care.

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