Congressman Denny Heck reacts to the bipartisan plan to fund federal government through fiscal year 2017
Press Release
U.S. Representative Denny Heck (WA-10) released the following statement on the fiscal year 2017 omnibus spending package:
"It is a great sign that Democrats and Republicans were able to come to the table and negotiate a bipartisan compromise to properly fund the federal government and avoid an irresponsible government shutdown.
"In addition to properly funding our military, I am encouraged by the continuation of robust funding for veterans programs, Puget Sound restoration, Planned Parenthood, as well as additional disaster and humanitarian assistance to address crises both at home and abroad.
"I commend the Republican and Democratic leaders for bringing this to a vote, and I will support this common sense proposal. We should take this momentum and now work on a comprehensive plan to update our aging infrastructure, which will require a similar bipartisan approach to get pragmatic solutions to the President's desk."
The Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus Appropriations Act provides $1.07 trillion in budget authority, with $551 billion in defense spending and $518.5 billion in non-defense spending. The agreement includes:
Military pay increase of 2.1 percent (consistent with the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act);
$1.1 billion in disaster assistance for regions affected by storms and flooding in 2015 and 2016;
$990 million in additional humanitarian assistance to alleviate international famine;
$7.47 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF);
$8.058 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including $28 million for the Puget Sound Geographic Program;
$6.4 billion for environmental cleanup activities, which includes money to clean sites contaminated by previous nuclear weapons production;
$1.3 billion for Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund projects;
$34.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
$22.5 billion for Pell Grants;
$7.2 billion for Centers for Disease Control (CDC); and
$3 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
Source