New Dem Leadership Members’ Statement on 2015 Omnibus Passage
Washington, DC – Today, the House passed an omnibus spending bill on a bipartisan vote of 316-113. Leadership Members of the New Democrat Coalition released the following statement:
“The omnibus represents a sound compromise that will prevent a disastrous government shutdown and prioritize investments that make our economy more competitive, support the middle class, and strengthen our national security. Earlier this year, we sent a letter to Speaker Boehner highlighting the need to avert government shutdowns and focus on commonsense, bipartisan priorities. The last government shutdown took $24 billion out of our economy and caused uncertainty and instability for American families, workers, and businesses. We cannot afford to risk this again and another continuing resolution would only prolong uncertainty.
To keep our economy growing, we need to invest more in areas critical to strengthening our competitiveness and maintaining our place as the world’s leading economy. This bill does that by following the funding caps agreed to under this year’s bipartisan budget agreement and increasing funding for vital priorities like balanced oversight of financial markets, tougher trade enforcement, investments in infrastructure, expanded child care and Head Start, revamped job training, and augmented innovative scientific research that includes a $2 billion increase in critical medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This bill also left out highly partisan policy riders while including important bipartisan provisions, such as a cybersecurity information sharing bill, this year’s intelligence authorization bill, delays to the excise and health insurance taxes to help keep health insurance premiums low, and a reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
This omnibus will provide much-needed stability and predictability in the coming months, allowing us to focus on working across the aisle to support growth, strengthen the middle class, and bolster American families.”
New Dem Chairman Ron Kind; Vice Chairs Gerry Connolly, Susan Davis, and Jim Himes; and Rep. Derek Kilmer signed on to this statement.
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