Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) voted to pass a package of six funding bills that will help Americans lower the cost of living, side with the hard-working middle class, protect women’s rights, reinforce America’s global leadership, and help our communities be safe and secure. 

“I was proud to vote for a bipartisan government funding package that invests in the critical government programs and services that support Delawareans while addressing some of our nation’s biggest challenges,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said. “Though I was disappointed that Republican leadership were unable to engage in serious conversations around our border security and tackle comprehensive immigration reform together– something that is desperately needed - this legislation was a compromise that will ultimately benefit the American people.

“Specifically, I was glad to see that the final package included measures to reduce drug costs and increase the access and affordability of childcare, help keep workers safe and ensure they are paid what they are owed, and reinforce America’s global leadership. With these final funding bills, we have secured funding to help Delawareans up and down the state,” continued Rep. Blunt Rochester. 

Democrats rejected extreme Republican cuts and policies. Instead, this government funding package includes:

• Blocking 10 extremist Republican riders to limit women’s reproductive health.
• $1 billion increase for child care and Head Start after Blunt Rochester joined her colleagues to advocate for more funding to these critical programs. 
• Over $3 billion for critical workforce training and registered apprenticeship programs based on demands of the economy and needs of local communities, a key priority for Blunt Rochester who is the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Future of Work Caucus.
• $1.4 billion for health workforce training, including for critical nursing and children’s health programs. Blunt Rochester leads bipartisan and bicameral efforts to address the nursing workforce and children’s health care crises. 
• $120 million increase in funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health.
• $100 million increase for Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias research.
• $4 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help working families reduce their cost of living.
• Saving 224,000 teachers’ jobs that extremists in the Republican Conference tried to eliminate and protecting Job Corps and more than 20 K-12 and higher education programs.
• 12,000 more Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans that assisted the United States.
• Increasing pay to our troops by 5.2% and housing allowance by 5.4%. 
• Over $1 billion for environmental restoration activities, including costs associated with clean water programs such as PFOS/PFOA cleanup.

This package includes the following funding bills: Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here. 

A package containing six other appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024 passed the House earlier this month and was signed into law by President Biden on March 9, which included a number of Delaware priorities the Congresswoman fought for.

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