WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Mark Green voted NO on H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020. He released the following statement explaining his vote.
“Congressional Democrats jammed as much partisan garbage into this nearly $1 trillion spending package as possible. If passed into law, this minibus would force taxpayers to pay for abortions in the U.S. and even overseas, continue funding Planned Parenthood, pay for an earmark program, and send half a billion dollars in aid to foreign countries most responsible for illegal crossings and trafficking on our border. Democrats opted to include these programs at the expense of Department of Defense funding and border wall funding, falling short of President Trump’s budget request.
“Moreover, I am opposed to the sheer cost of this legislation. While President Trump requested a 24% cut, this division of appropriations bills would provide a 4.1% increase in spending. I was not sent to Washington to radically grow the size of government.
“Last, I am appalled that Democrats again refused the administration’s request to provide emergency funding to solve the urgent humanitarian crisis on our southern border. The HHS division in charge of taking care of unaccompanied children is set to run out of funds this month, and hundreds of thousands of migrants are still on their way. Time to put country over party and help the president solve this crisis.”
###
