Cohen’s Statement on Passage of the FY2017 Omnibus Appropriations Act

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the FY2017 Omnibus Appropriations Act:

"I am pleased that House and Senate leaders from both parties were able to negotiate a compromise to keep the government funded through September," said Congressman Cohen. "The bill includes adequate funding for important programs to Memphians that President Trump proposed cutting drastically such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program, food stamps and Planned Parenthood. It also provides adequate funding for PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, environmental protection programs and renewable energy programs."

"I am particularly pleased that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be receiving a $2 billion funding increase in the omnibus bill, something for which I have long advocated. President Trump's budget proposal included a steep $5.8 billion cut to our country's Department of Defense for America's personal health, the NIH. The likelihood of any of us dying by an attack from North Korea, Iran, or ISIS is rather slim, while the odds of dying from diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart disease, AIDS, or Alzheimer's is far more likely. Robust medical research funding will help provide treatments and find cures for the myriad of diseases that attack Americans every day. There is no better investment for each of us in the federal budget than the war against debilitating disease and death."