[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7430]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE OMNIBUS BILL

  (Mr. ESPAILLAT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we found a solution to 
keep the government open through October and that this deal does not 
include funding for President Trump's border wall, nor does it 
eliminate money for sanctuary cities. These are several issues that I 
am proud to champion in addition to programs such as the NIH, Child 
Care and Development Block Grants, Pell grants, nutrition programs for 
seniors, Planned Parenthood, affordable housing, and Head Start.
  However, the devil is in the details, and after further reviewing 
this total package, I cannot, in good conscience, support it. This bill 
will increase funding for homeland security and is essentially $1.2 
billion of President Trump's original proposed $3 billion request for 
border security and interior enforcement. We fully know that any 
funding for homeland security and border security will be used to 
increase raids and detentions, essentially funding the President's mass 
deportation agenda.
  In addition, this omnibus bill does not provide a long-term solution 
to Puerto Rico's economic crisis, leaving Puerto Rico's Medicaid 
funding with only one-third of the funding it needs.
  Finally, the bill comes at the same time that Trump and House 
Republicans continue to push to eliminate ACA. The devil is in the 
detail, and that, too, will be a nightmare in hell for many of us.

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