Senate Working to Fund National Priorities, Local Impacts
‘This week, we’ve been considering appropriations measures to fund the Department of Defense and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. These bills will make America stronger -- overseas and right here at home. They attend to national priorities like providing the resources needed to better prepare our forces for combat, and to deter our enemies. The funds meet many of the requirements of our military commanders, equipping and training units to meet and overcome the
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Senate’s continued work on appropriations:
“This week, we’ve been considering appropriations measures to fund the Department of Defense and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. These bills will make America stronger -- overseas and right here at home. They attend to national priorities like providing the resources needed to better prepare our forces for combat, and to deter our enemies. The funds meet many of the requirements of our military commanders, equipping and training units to meet and overcome the most dangerous of emerging global threats.
“As ever, our obligation to this all volunteer force is to provide adequate training, weaponry and skills so that Americans always prevail on the battlefield. Here at home, this bill marshals new resources for our national battle with drug abuse and opioid addiction, and gives our National Institutes of Health the resources to stay on offense against everything from Alzheimer’s to infectious diseases. And with private-sector surveys showing that hiring skilled workers is a top challenge for American business, this legislation continues and expands our investments in apprenticeship programs, in training and employment grants to states, and in support for dislocated workers.
“These are national efforts. How do they translate locally? Every Senator can describe how this legislation will help families and communities in their home state. In my home state of Kentucky, we’re looking forward to increased funding for Pell Grants, and the millions we’ve secured to support work colleges like Berea College and Alice Lloyd College. Kentuckians will benefit from new funding for community health centers to support patients struggling with addiction and from a new CDC initiative that will prioritize funding for counties most at risk for outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis due to injection drug use.
“And, of course, the Department of Defense funding touches every single community that proudly calls itself home to men and women of the armed forces. Kentuckians in uniform and their families will enjoy their well-earned pay raise -- the highest in nearly a decade -- which this bill provides to all American servicemembers. And the communities that revolve around Fort Campbell, Fort Knox, the Blue Grass Army Depot, and the Kentucky National Guard can count on the funding they need to keep up their important operations.
“National priorities; local impacts. I’m proud of what these bills contain and how the Senate has crafted them. I want to thank Chairman Shelby and Senator Leahy once more. I look forward to voting to pass these measures soon.”
Related Issues: Appropriations, Health Care, Education, America's Military
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