Barbara Lee: “First, let me thank Chairman Quigley for his leadership and for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the…”

“First, let me thank Chairman Quigley for his leadership and for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Governmen Appropriations bill. This includes $1.4 billion in funding over fiscal year 2019 enacted levels to support critical functions and services in the executive and judicial branches, it ensures the integrity of our Federal elections, as well as supporting critical programs that protect consumers. I am pleased that the bill includes my language that would nullify President Trump's proposed changes to the calculation of how we measure poverty, which would have a devastating impact on families all across the country. This bill also includes $23 million for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which provides critical financing to attract grocery stores, food banks, and other fresh food businesses to underserved areas. Thanks to HFFI, healthy food initiatives are available in all of our congressional districts in urban and in rural communities, and also in my congressional district at the Mandela MarketPlace in Oakland, California. As co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I thank Chairman Quigley for lifting the ban on the use of local D.C. funds for abortion services. This ban has unjustly prevented 55,000 D.C. women of reproductive age from accessing the full range of reproductive healthcare, including abortion.…”