DeLauro Statement in Support of Bipartisan Continuing Resolution and Disaster Relief Package

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) released the following statement on the bipartisan continuing resolution to keep government programs and services functioning until March 14, 2025. This package also includes supplemental relief funds necessary to help communities across the country recover from recent natural disasters. 

“This bipartisan package is a responsible and necessary measure to ensure that key government functions, and the programs and services that assist and lift up American workers and families, continue uninterrupted. From Hurricanes Helene and Milton, to the fires in Maui, to extreme weather events in every corner of the country, severe disasters have forced hardworking families to rebuild their homes, restore their communities, and reestablish their local economies. The bill provides communities across the country with critical relief, investing $100 billion to help Americans rebuild and recover. I am also pleased that it covers the full cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a critical artery for travel and commerce on the East Coast that creates and sustains jobs and helps bolster the nation’s economy.

“While I—and so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle—wish we were voting on full-year funding bills, I am pleased that this package includes important resources for American farmers, emergency defense investments, investments in the Virginia Class submarine program, and increased funding for child care. It also includes outbound investment protections I have long fought for to prevent American dollars from fueling the Chinese Communist Party's policies with our capital and capabilities. However, I am concerned that we could not agree on additional funding for veterans health care, and we must be vigilant in ensuring that the incoming Administration does not ration care promised to every affected veteran. The passage of this bill should mark the beginning of negotiations on final 2025 funding bills. The start of a new Congress does not change the reality that any funding bills will still need the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and in the Senate in order to become law.”

Text of the bill can be found here.

A summary of the continuing resolution and supplemental funding portions can be found here.

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