Shelley Moore Capito: “As we near the end of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, I would like to thank Vice Chair Collins and Chair…”

“As we near the end of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, I would like to thank Vice Chair Collins and Chair Murray, as well as my fellow committee members. The Labor-HHS appropriations bill, the largest non-Defense appropriations bill, is one of the most difficult appropriations bills to negotiate. I see my chair over there. So it is good to be together again. It is not a stretch to say that every year, when we go into appropriations season, it is assumed that Labor-H will be one of the hardest bills to pass. And many times it is. This is the first year that Senator Baldwin and I have been at the helm of the Senate Labor- HHS Subcommittee, and I am pleased to say we were able to work together to present a bipartisan Senate bill last summer that laid the groundwork for this final compromise bill. First, I want to thank all of my colleagues, and I want all of my colleagues to know that in this bill we continue all longstanding legacy riders, such as Hyde and Hyde-Weldon conscience protections. And I want to make it clear that we worked together to avoid any new poison pill funding for controversial programs, such as title X family planning. While we each approached this bill differently, it was important to present a bipartisan result, including Member priorities, such as greater investments in biomedical research, pandemic preparedness, mental health, childcare and education, efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, and rural health.…”