Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) issued the following statement after supporting the omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2016, which passed in the House of Representatives on a 316-113 vote:

“I am pleased that some of the critical investments I have fought for were included in this compromise, such as increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and a delay in the ‘Cadillac Tax’,” DelBene said. “I voted for this bill because these strategic investments will help support hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute tens of billions of dollars to our economy, benefiting families and businesses in Washington state and around the nation.

“Unfortunately, negotiators took advantage of this must-pass legislation by adding some regrettable measures into the appropriations process that weaken privacy protection – something I care deeply about. I plan to continue the fight to protect Americans’ right to privacy, and will work with my colleagues to keep government from circumventing the Fourth Amendment when seeking access to innocent Americans’ personal electronic communications. However, this bill replaces the damaging cuts of sequestration while allowing Congress to start fresh next year, potentially ending the cycle of governing from crisis to crisis, and providing the certainty that families and businesses desperately need.”

DelBene recently led more than 100 House members in urging the Appropriations Committee to provide NIH at least $32 billion in 2016, and she has repeatedly called on Congress to reauthorize LWCF – both of which were include in the omnibus.

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