Press Releases

Congresswoman Moore Secures Funding to Invest in Our Community  

Today, Congresswoman Moore voted to pass H.R. 7617, an Appropriations Minibus that includes the Defense; Commerce-Justice-Science; Energy and Water Development; Financial Services and General Government; Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD appropriations bills. In response, she released the following statement:

“We need investments in Milwaukee, especially during the pandemic, to expand opportunity, support our most vulnerable, and to protect the health of our communities. I am especially proud of the provisions I fought for, to enhance funding by $10 million for federal TRIO programs to ensure students with backgrounds like mine can succeed in higher education. 

I also secured funding for eviction prevention programs and to properly fund support for those who are experiencing homelessness. This is critical given that in Milwaukee County, evictions increased by 26 percent in June. My efforts helped increase funding by $3 million for CDC’s childhood lead prevention programs and a $50 million increase for HUD’s lead hazard programs to fight the crisis in Milwaukee still impacting our most vulnerable. 

This package also includes a welcomed increase for the McKinney Vento Homelessness Assistance Grant program which I fought for and for the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) programs across several agencies including the Department of Justice. I also advocated for the services that can keep survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence safe and supported. Domestic violence continues to plague our communities and has increased during the pandemic as people were forced to stay home, sometimes being trapped in dangerous situations. While the underlying bill provides key increases for these programs which I applaud, during debate on the floor, the House adopted my two amendments to further increase funding for the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP) and the Transitional Housing Program. 

Additionally, this package includes needed investments across all the bills that will help our community.  For example, the bill includes some $400 million in funding within the Department of Justice to begin to implement the critical reforms that the House passed in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120).  This includes $50 million within the Byrne-JAG program to support training for state and local law enforcement on racial profiling, implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force, and the duty to intervene when witnessing other officers using excessive force.  The bill would also tie eligible for funding through Byrne-JAG and the COPS programs to grantees meeting a series of criteria, including certifying that they have in place policies requiring every law enforcement officer to complete training programs on racial profiling, implicit bias, de-escalation, and use of force, barring the use of chokeholds, and the use of knock warrants, among others. 

I am also pleased the Defense portion of this package includes strong provisions to block funding for a border wall, to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force with a provision to provide for Congress to consider a replacement if need be, a repeal of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, a repeal of the Transgender Ban, and a prohibition against the Use of Military Force against Iran without specific Congressional Authorization, among other provisions.”