ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we found a solution to
keep the government open through October and that this deal does not
include funding for President Trump's border wall, nor does it
eliminate money for sanctuary cities. These are several issues that I
am proud to champion in addition to programs such as the NIH, Child
Care and Development Block Grants, Pell grants, nutrition programs for
seniors, Planned Parenthood, affordable housing, and Head Start. However, the devil is in the details, and after further reviewing
this total package, I cannot, in good conscience, support it. This bill
will increase funding for homeland security and is essentially $1.2
billion of President Trump's original proposed $3 billion request for
border security and interior enforcement. We fully know that any
funding for homeland security and border security will be used to
increase raids and detentions, essentially funding the President's mass
deportation agenda. In addition, this omnibus bill does not provide a long-term solution
to Puerto Rico's economic crisis, leaving Puerto Rico's Medicaid
funding with only one-third of the funding it needs. Finally, the bill comes at the same time that Trump and House
Republicans continue to push to eliminate ACA.
Keywords matched
border wall border security sanctuary cities deportation