Rep. Huffman Votes Against FY 2018 Continuing Resolution

December 21, 2017

Washington, D.C.- Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today voted against the insufficient Continuing Resolution for fiscal year 2018, a stop-gap funding measure that passed the House today 231-188. Instead of considering a full year spending measure, the Republican leadership of the House opted to kick the can down the road again until January 19, 2018, and to avoid addressing a growing backlog of national priorities ranging from children’s health insurance to protecting DREAMers.

“This latest continuing resolution fails to deliver on the bipartisan priorities of the American people, and it is just the latest example of a congressional leadership that refuses to lead,” said Rep. Huffman. “Instead of working on a common-sense spending bill that funds key bipartisan priorities for the whole year, Congressional Republicans have been so busy trying to jam their tax scheme through that they yet again had to scramble at the last minute. This continuing resolution is completely inadequate: it fails to protect DREAMers, underfunds veterans’ services, and puts off key budget decisions until next year. Instead of the long-term assurances that are needed for children’s health and community health, this bill robs preventive health programs just to provide an extension through next March. Congress needs to have a real conversation about how to advance these priorities and fund the governmental in a meaningful way.”

After voting against the continuing resolution, Rep. Huffman voted for a separate supplemental emergency disaster assistance that passed the House today, which included $81 million in funding for California wildfire victims and for those affected by the hurricanes that struck Florida, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The funding levels in the bill, which passed 251-169, were much improved from the Trump administration’s inadequate earlier request. However, the bill will need to be improved in the Senate to fix other shortcomings, including the missing disaster assistance for West Coast fishery disasters and closures, and provisions that do not support the rebuilding of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

“This disaster assistance is a long overdue step forward in helping California rebuild in the wake of the worst wildfires our state has seen. After advocating for this support, I’m glad to see that Congress is finally acting on this assistance to California. There is more work that needs to be done in the Senate to improve this bill, and I will continue to fight to secure all the funding that our communities need to recover.”

###