Rep. Cleaver Votes to Pass Omnibus Funding Package, Invest in Middle Class Families, and Support Ukraine

(Washington, D.C.) – Last night, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of H.R. 2471, the fiscal year 2022 government funding package, otherwise known as the Omnibus or budget bill. The bill's historic investments in the American people and communities across the country will help working families with the cost of living, create good-paying jobs, provide support to our veterans, and protect the most vulnerable members of our society. Additionally, the legislation includes $13.6 billion in supplemental funding to support the Ukrainian people and defend global democracy in the wake of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.

The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, and the bill is expected to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden later this week.

"The key to a quality, fair, and robust budget bill that meets the needs of the American people is an eagerness from both political parties to work together in good-faith and a willingness to compromise—which is precisely how we arrived at the budget I was proud to support," said Congressman Cleaver. "While I've never come across a budget that was perfect, this legislation will help lower costs for hardworking families in Missouri by expanding child care and early learning programs, supporting access to homeownership and affordable housing, strengthening nutrition and energy assistance programs, investing in affordable health care, fulfilling the promises made to our veterans, and so much more. In conjunction with the more than $15 million in Community Project Funding I was able to secure for the Fifth Congressional District, these historic investments in middle- and working-class families are going to have a profound impact in our congressional district and across the country—and that's precisely how we begin building a better America."

The government funding package includes significant investments to help hardworking families with the cost of living, support our veterans, and protect the most vulnerable members of our communities by:

• Expanding access to child care and early childhood education and development programs by increasing funding for Head Start, the Child Care Development Block Grant, and Preschool Development Grants;
• Strengthening nutrition and energy assistance programs that Missouri families rely on such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);
• Providing historic funding to strengthen public education, with $42.6 billion for public schools, including a focus on high-poverty schools;
• Making post-secondary education more affordable with increased funding for Pell Grants, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program, Federal Work Study programs, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs);
• Supporting access to affordable housing and homeownership through increases in housing vouchers, increased funding for rental assistance and public housing, and investments in community revitalization programs;
• Honoring our promise to veterans by funding critical benefits, bolstering the VA's health care system and reducing backlogs;
• Extending the National Flood Insurance Program, which mitigates flood risk and provides affordable insurance to millions of property owners, through September 30, 2022;
• Connecting rural communities to the internet with $550 billion in funding to expand rural broadband; and more.

The budget bill also includes substantial investments that will create good-paying jobs at home and strengthen America's global competitiveness in the long-term by:

• Helping small business owners and entrepreneurs grow with $1.3 billion for the Small Business Administration and Community Development Financial Institution;
• Expanding high-quality job training and apprenticeship programs with $9.8 billion for the Employment and Training Administration;
• Increasing economic development in distressed communities with support for small and medium-sized American manufacturers, as well as increases in the Community Development Block Grant program;
• Doubling-down on the transition to renewable energy with increased funding for the development and deployment of renewable and clean energy technologies across the country; and
• Modernizing America's critical infrastructure with $109.2 billion to rebuild crumbling highways, transit, passenger rail, port systems, and more.

The Omnibus also includes $13.6 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine's fight for freedom, including:

• Humanitarian assistance that helps address the dire humanitarian needs of the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine or been displaced within Ukraine;
• Defense assistance that provides Ukraine and American allies and partners in the Baltics and Central and Eastern Europe so they can defend themselves against Russian aggression;
• Economic assistance that flexibly allows Ukrainian leaders to respond to the economic needs of Ukraine and its neighbors, including energy and cybersecurity efforts; and
• Sanctions enforcement that ensures Putin and his cronies cannot escape the financial pain caused by global sanctions levied for their unprovoked and unjustified invasion of a sovereign nation.

Additionally, the legislation addresses some of our nation's biggest challenges, including:

• Protecting our national security with robust funding for defense, diplomacy, and global development, a strong focus on cybersecurity, and investments in responsible border and maritime security that keeps Americans safe and respects the rights and dignity of migrants;
• Confronting the climate crisis through a renewed focus on environmental enforcement, pioneering funding for environmental justice, and historic investments in clean energy and climate science; and
• Strengthening public health by rebuilding our public health infrastructure, investing in lifesaving biomedical research, and confronting urgent health crises, including maternal health, mental health, substance misuse, and gun violence.

"Instead of fixing the blame for who is responsible for the challenges facing our great nation, the American public want their representatives to fix a solution for the people," said Congressman Cleaver. "I believe that this bipartisan government funding bill is a critical step toward building a better America in every corner of every community, and I'll keep working on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation like this that helps us do just that."

A full section-by-section summary of the government funding legislation is available here, and a summary of the Ukraine supplemental funding is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.