Lowey Statement to Rules on Omnibus Spending Bill

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) today delivered the following remarks to the House Rules Committee in support of an appropriate rule for the House to consider H.R. 133, an omnibus spending bill consisting of all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, coronavirus relief, and authorizations:

Chairman McGovern, Ranking Member Cole, and Members of the Rules Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to address you for a final time as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The legislation before you comprises all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, a number of items agreed to on a bipartisan basis between authorizing committees, and a coronavirus relief package.

The 12 appropriations bills include a strong increase in non-defense discretionary funding, allowing Congress to make important investments for the people.

I am particularly proud that we have been able to fund:

• Better education for our students, with increases for Title I schools and special education;
• More affordable housing, including new targeted vouchers to reduce homelessness;
• Food security initiatives, with full funding for SNAP, WIC and child nutrition programs;
• Safer communities, with funding to address America’s gun violence epidemic;
• Clean air and water, with a strong increase for the EPA to hold polluters accountable;
• Action on the climate crisis, with resources for clean, affordable, and secure energy; and
• Care for our veterans, with a special emphasis on suicide prevention and gender-specific care.

As Chairwoman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I am also proud that this legislation bolsters international security and stability. In particular, the Middle East Partnership for Peace Fund will support people-to-people exchanges and economic partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians.

Turning to the coronavirus relief portion of the legislation, the bill provides $892 billion.

While it doesn’t include state and local relief that is desperately needed, the amounts it provides for education, public health, and transportation will greatly benefit our local communities, and the $4 billion for GAVI will help children across the world receive the coronavirus vaccine, though far greater investments are needed to support international COVID-19 response.

Before I close, I would like to thank all of you – and especially my good friend Chairman McGovern and my dear friend and fellow Appropriator Tom Cole – for your partnership.

I believe that we can all be proud of the work we have done together, and this legislation is a capstone to that effort.

I request an appropriate rule for Floor consideration of this critical measure.

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