Press Releases

Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes For Domestic Funding and Ukraine Humanitarian and Economic Assistance in Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Package

Today, Congresswoman Moore voted for H.R. 2741, the Funding for the People Act and released the following statement:

“This year’s omnibus package includes key domestic priorities that expands on Democrats’ and the Biden administration’s commitment to Build a Better America, pouring much-needed resources in health care, education, and to end our lead crisis, fight child hunger, tackle climate change, and protect domestic abuse survivors and their children.  This omnibus package uplifts Milwaukee and includes funding for community projects to support local organizations meeting pressing needs in our community.

I am proud that a range of programs I championed will receive the federal funds needed to ensure our most vulnerable Americans can stay nourished. We will fund programs such as WIC to fight food insecurity in our communities and expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables for more than 6 million Americans. No person should go hungry in America.  I am particularly pleased about the $6 million I fought to have included for school breakfast expansion grants to help ensure that more students have a healthy start to the school day.

I am strong supporter of making higher education more affordable and accessible. As a former TRIO recipient, I always work to pay it forward by supporting the program which help me through college as a struggling single mother. As co-chair of the House TRIO caucus, I fought hard for increased funding for TRIO and am thrilled that this bill increases funding by $40 million, allowing us to reach more students who need the support, such as low-income and first-generation students.

Housing affordability is an issue I am tackling for my constituents. This bill will ensure more Americans can access affordable, quality housing and secure funding to address lead paint in low-income housing. and lead poisoning in our children. I am especially pleased that this dedicates housing vouchers to domestic abuse survivors, who need this support as they work to find safety and build a new life for them and their children. The omnibus also includes a long overdue reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a vital bill that helps save lives and protects survivors. I had the privilege of authoring the last VAWA reauthorization in the House and this bill builds on that, including expanding the ability of tribal law enforcement to enforce laws on their lands.  The VAWA reauthorization also has stronger protections for LGBTQ survivors. The VAWA reauthorization provides new tools and new authorities that will help our communities combat this scourge, which is why I am glad it was included in this package.  In addition, I am proud that the omnibus includes funding for existing VAWA programs in FY 22 that I again spearheaded the charge for including $575 million for DOJ VAWA programs and $201 million to tackle the backlog of rape kits in our country. This VAWA reauthorization also includes my bill to study the impact of intimate partner violence on maternal health outcomes, this research is critical to saving lives. 

We also address the climate crisis and make important investments in clean energy by securing $14 billion in funds to support research and develop new technologies.

And I was pleased to support funding for humanitarian and economic assistance to help those fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to support the Ukrainian government during these trying times.

In putting together this package, we didn’t win every funding fight, some programs got much less than I thought they deserved, and I certainly do not endorse every provision in this omnibus bill. However, on balance, this legislation includes key funding on the domestic front for health, education, labor, transportation, housing and other key investments that I simply could not ignore and which were worthy of my support. 

I share the concerns of my constituents about the increased defense funding included in this package with very little debate. We must support our men and women in uniform, and I will continue to do so but that does not have to include continuing to provide a blank check for new funding for a department that is still not able to audit where its funding is going. 

Lastly, while I am disappointed this legislation does not include COVID-19 relief funds, this issue sits solely on the shoulders of Republicans who have opposed this relief and demanded funds be offset, including by cutting critical state and local funds that local leaders are depending on to help support our communities which have been heavily impacted by this pandemic. From eviction prevention to food aid, these dollars have been crucial to keeping families afloat. I look forward to supporting robust COVID-19 relief in a separate legislation while advancing this important omnibus package.”

Read more on H.R. 2741, Funding for the People Act here.