Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4366 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

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

The Administration strongly urges swift passage of H. R. 4366, making appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. This bipartisan legislation represents a compromise and neither side got everything it wanted, but it would prevent a damaging shutdown of several key agencies, protect key priorities and make progress for the American people.

H. R. 4366 includes important investments that advance a range of key national priorities, building on the progress that has been made over the past three years both in annual appropriations and through legislation like Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bill fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, protecting essential benefits for millions of women and children across the Nation. The bill also maintains rental assistance for millions of families, and expands assistance to an additional 3,000 households. The bill also sustains critical infrastructure programs, maintains pay raises for Federal wildland fire fighters, and fully funds veterans' medical care. In addition, the bill also increases funding for rural housing assistance, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Violence Against Women Act, and science investments at the Department of Energy.

The Administration applauds the inclusion of other key priorities, including the Compacts of Free Association, which represents the bedrock of America's broader strategic interests and engagements in the Indo-Pacific. The Administration also appreciates the extension of several vital health care programs, including the Special Diabetes Program, as well as a seven-year extension of the Undetectable Firearms Act.

While the Administration is pleased that hundreds of poison pill provisions and extreme funding cuts were rejected, the Administration opposes the language included in the bill that would potentially undermine the ability of the Veterans' Affairs Department to report a beneficiary to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to keep guns out of the hands of those prohibited under Federal law from purchasing or possessing firearms. The Administration remains committed to exploring every possible pathway to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them and ensure the safety of these individuals and their communities.

The Administration urges the Congress to send this critical legislation to the President's desk for signature without delay and to quickly act on the remaining funding bills as well as the bipartisan national security supplemental.