Today Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement after voting in support of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 that includes funding directed to Central Washington, protects American farmland, and cuts wasteful, reckless federal spending.
“I am proud to support these bills that do exactly what we set out to do: rein in the out-of-control D.C. spending that we have become so accustomed to seeing. This package represents the first overall cut to non-defense, non-VA spending in nearly a decade,” said. Rep. Dan Newhouse, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Newhouse continued, “We were looking down the barrel of another seven months of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer’s budget, but instead delivered on conservative wins that kick last cycle’s far-left policies to the curb and showed the Biden Administration that they can’t continue to spend money we don’t have without any repercussions.”
“I am also proud to have secured funding for major projects and initiatives in Central Washington that directly contribute to our local infrastructure and economy. This is what happens when we spend responsibly and don’t fund bloated initiatives that contribute nothing to our region.”
Today’s vote included the following federal spending bills brought forward by the House Appropriations Committee:
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Commerce, Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies
- Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
- Interior and Environment, and Related Agencies
- Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
The following Community Project Funding requests coming to Central Washington were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024:
- $500,000 for the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation project.
- $2,750,000 for the Astria Toppenish Hospital Facilities Improvement.
- $1,950,000 for the Adams County Correctional Facility Improvements.
- $100,000 for the Nespelem Community Longhouse.
- $2.25 million for Mattawa, Washinton for the Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements project.
- $3,096,000 to the Pangborn Memorial Airport (EAT) for the general aviation terminal modernization.
- $4 million to the State of Washington for Hood River – White Salmon Interstate bridge replacement.
- $2.5 million to the State of Washington for the Port of Warden Truck Access and Bypass Road Project.
- $2.5 million to the Port of Quincy (Grant County Port District No. 1) for the Port of Quincy Rail Infrastructure Expansion Project.
- $4,419,564 to the City of Pasco for the wastewater treatment upgrades.
- $2.5 million to the City of Pateros for the Pateros Mall revitalization.
Highlights
- Rejects President Biden’s proposal for 4,700 new full-time equivalents (FTE) at the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and instead encourages the hiring of staff in the county offices that work directly with producers and rural communities.
- Addresses foreign ownership of land by:
- Improving the tracking system of foreign-owned land;
- Adding the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review agricultural transactions and also requiring the notification of CFIUS of agricultural land transactions of national security concern, including purchases made by China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
- Continues critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, rural water infrastructure, and animal and plant health programs.
- Maintains a funding restriction on the FDA from conducting research on a human embryo that is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification.
- Reduces funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by nearly 10%.
- Cuts the Administration’s Environmental Justice Budget Request by $275 million.
- Rejects policy provisions included in the President’s Budget Request that would have reduced domestic energy production, driven up oil and gas prices, and increased U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
- Includes language to protect public access for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal lands.
- Maintains key provisions, including exempting farmers and livestock producers from burdensome greenhouse gas requirements and preventing an Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of sage-grouse, to enable continued energy and mineral development across the West.
- Reduces reliance on foreign sources of critical minerals by maintaining strong support for domestic production.
A summary of the bills can be found here.
Full bill text can be found here.###