Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.-05) voted on Tuesday in favor of a bipartisan spending agreement that includes five of her top priorities and funds the government through Oct. 1, 2020, the remainder of the current fiscal year. This legislation passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support.
Brooks
“Congress has the constitutional responsibility to provide certainty to our economy and the American people by keeping the government funded and open,” said Brooks. “Although this funding agreement is not ideal, I was successful in securing five of my top priorities. This legislation includes permanently repealing the medical device tax, which was critical to Indiana’s medical device manufacturers to ensure medical innovation and job growth. The bill reauthorizes poison control centers, which serve as an important line of defense against opioid overdoses. It increases funding for our nation’s Strategic National Stockpile containing critical medical supplies, vaccines, antibiotics and more to ensure America is better prepared and ready for a public health emergency, such as Pandemic Influenza or Ebola. Additionally, this legislation provides continued funding for the Legal Service Corporations, providing financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans, and authorizes significant funding for rural broadband buildout, which guarantees better access to internet for all Hoosiers.”
This Omnibus Appropriations legislation consists of 12 appropriations bills, along with a small number of tax provisions. The legislation:
- Includes a 3.1 percent pay raise for the military, the largest in a decade; and addresses childcare and other quality of life issues critical to supporting our brave service men and women and their families.
- Authorizes $2 billion for the National Institute of Mental Health, $9.4 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Programs and provides funding to be used for gun violence research.
- Advances drug treatment and recovery initiatives and improves prevention and enforcement by investing $518 million in grant programs that support drug courts, prescription drug monitoring, overdose-reversal drugs and at-risk youth programs.
- Provides increased funding for Department of Justice initiatives, such as the STOP School Violence and the COPS Hiring Programs, which expand threat assessment, violence prevention, school security and resource officer support.
- Assists Border Patrol Agents by providing $13 million for new border processing coordinators and funds an additional 1,200 Customs and Border Protection officers and provides for more immigration judges.