June 20, 2019

House Passes New Democrat Coalition-Supported Priorities in H.R. 2740

The Amendments, led by the Future of Work and National Security Task Force Co-Chairs, passed the House of Representatives in H.R. 2740

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020. This bill includes several New Democrat Coalition-supported priorities and amendments.

Specifically, this bill:

  • Supports a 21st century workforce by investing in workforce development grants, apprenticeships, and community colleges
  • Secures America’s role as an international leader on climate change by preventing funds for withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and making investments in clean energy research, development, and deployment, including through the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy
  • Strengthens our national security through strategic investments in our national defense and diplomatic efforts and supports members of the armed forces
  • Provides record funding for the National Institutes of Health to help find the next cures to diseases that impact Americans across the country

“NDC Members were proud to support an appropriations package that makes progress on important priorities for our region,” said New Democrat Coalition Chair Derek Kilmer (WA-6). “This bill will continue to invest in our military installations, ensure access to quality and affordable health care, spur energy innovation, fight climate change, and invest in our kids.”

This bill also included two amendments led by NDC the Future of Work and National Security Task Force Co-Chairs.

The Future of Work Task Force Co-Chairs, led by Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11) and co-sponsored by Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL), Chris Pappas (NH-01), and Haley Stevens (MI-11), offered an amendment to modernize how the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor trends and conducts the contingent worker survey, which measure people in non-traditional work arrangements. 

The National Security Task Force Co-Chairs, led by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) and co-sponsored by Reps. Brad Schneider (IL-10), Anthony Brown (MD-04), and Brendan Boyle (PA-02), offered an amendment to act upon and expand a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on the impact of personnel vacancies at the Department of State on our country’s national security and foreign policy objectives. 

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