Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2882 - Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)
(Rep. Granger, R-TX)

The Administration strongly urges swift passage of H.R. 2882, making appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. This bipartisan legislation, which represents a compromise between Republicans and Democrats that adheres to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, would fund the remainder of the Federal Government through the end of the fiscal year, while investing in key priorities for the American people.

The Administration is pleased that H.R. 2882 rejects the extreme spending cuts and harmful riders proposed by House Republicans. Instead, the bill expands access to affordable child care and supports early childhood education through Head Start, and includes critical investments in lifesaving cancer and Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health. The bill also maintains important investments in mental health and substance use prevention and treatment.

At a time when the United States is facing a number of national security threats, H.R. 2882 provides robust investments in our military readiness and advances American leadership abroad. The Administration applauds the inclusion of an additional 12,000 Afghan Special Immigrant Visas demonstrating our ongoing commitment to our Afghan allies; an authorization to support loans through the International Monetary Fund to vulnerable countries, providing a necessary alternative to coercive lending by the People's Republic of China; and the one-year reauthorization of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, although the Administration continues to call on the Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR for an additional five years.

The Administration also fought for and secured additional resources in H.R. 2882 so that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can maintain its current capacity to manage the border. However, DHS funding levels are still inadequate and the Administration reiterates its call to the Congress to take up and pass the bipartisan border security agreement, which would provide DHS with policy changes and resources it needs to better secure our border and protect the homeland.

The Administration urges the Congress to send this critical legislation to the President's desk for signature without delay and to quickly pivot to the bipartisan national security supplemental.