Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04), Vice Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after voting in favor of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which is the final package of appropriations bills for the Fiscal Year 2024:
“Today, after months of negotiations, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 passed the House of Representatives, which, combined with the first six appropriations bills that passed earlier this month, will change the trajectory of government spending in Washington. This legislation is saturated with Republican wins, as it cuts overfunded programs, while still prioritizing our national security, and rejects detrimental policies proposed in the President’s budget,” said Congressman Cole. “The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 provides an increase in robust funding for critical national defense initiatives, funds the largest increase in basic military pay in over twenty years, will aid us in countering Chinese aggression, upholds our commitment to our great ally, Israel, prohibits federal funding for abortions, defunds part of President Biden’s army of IRS agents, grants the highest level of funds ever for Border Patrol agents, increases funding for overall border security efforts, claws back unnecessary COVID-19 funding, sustains critical oversight funding to hold the Biden Administration accountable, and much more.”
“I am very happy to see this final appropriations package cross the finish line today. I would like to thank House Appropriations Chairwoman Granger, Republican leadership, and all my fellow Appropriations Committee colleagues for the hard work they have put in to get these critical funding bills passed today. Even with a Democrat President, a divided Congress, and a slim majority, we were able to put forward a bill that will save the taxpayers more than $200 billion over the next ten years, while at the same time invests in our military and border security to keep the American people safe from threats both at home and abroad. This year, it is apparent that House Republicans were included in appropriations negotiation talks, and I am very proud of the results,” said Congressman Cole.
Key Provisions of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024:
Defense Appropriations Act of 2024
- Provides a $27B increase for robust national defense work, including countering China and increasing the quality of life for servicemembers and their families.
- Makes critical investments in next-generation fighter aircraft, tactical combat vehicles, helicopters, and submarines.
- Funds a 5.2% increase in basic military pay, which is the largest increase in over twenty years.
- Cuts $50.5M from diversity and inclusion programs for the military.
- Prohibits funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and EcoHealth Alliance in China.
- Provides of $66B in INDOPACOM-relevant capabilities, including $42M in underfunded priorities to bolster U.S. military capabilities in the region.
- Rejects the Biden Administration’s inadequate shipbuilding plan.
Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2024
- Funds the hiring of 22,000 Border Patrol agents, which is the highest level ever funded.
- Provides $125M for increases to Border Patrol overtime pay.
- Increases funding for new border security technology.
- Prohibits the hiring of illegal aliens.
- Funds a detention bed level of 41,500, which is 16,500 above President Biden’s request.
- Provides $721M for additional illegal alien transportation and removal operations.
- Allocates $348M in equipment to detect fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics coming in through official ports of entry.
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2024
- Rescinds $10.2B from the Biden Administration.
- Partially defunds President Biden’s army of IRS agents.
- Claws back $2.16B in unused COVID-19 funds.
- Prevents efforts to ban gas stoves.
- Prohibits federal funding for abortions.
- Blocks the IRS from targeting Americans for exercising their First Amendment rights.
- Cuts funding for financial regulators to slow their costly and burdensome regulatory agendas.
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2024
- Prioritizes funding to counter Chinese aggression.
- Prohibits funding to the Chinese government or to repay debt owed to China by other nations.
- Reaffirms our commitment to Israel.
- Prohibits funds for programs that encourage, organize, facilitate, or promote migrant caravans to the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Holds the United Nations accountable for blatant bias against our allies.
- Slashes the Act’s overall spending by 6% by cutting funding that the Biden Administration could use on controversial programs that are not national security related.
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act of 2024
- Supports robust biomedical research funding for investigating and finding cures for cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic and rare diseases.
- Provides resources for rural communities to help with vital telehealth and opioid response resources.
- Claws back $4.3B in unnecessary COVID-19 funding.
- Ensures federal funding cannot be used for abortion services.
- Guarantees federal funding cannot be used to advocate for or promote gun control.
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act of 2024
- Reins in bureaucratic growth at Legislative Branch agencies and shrinks that bureaucracy by 2.2%.
- Sustains critical oversight funding for the House of Representatives to hold the Biden Administration accountable.
- Requires unspent money from Members’ Representational Allowances to be used for debt and deficit reduction.
Congressman Cole Requests and Priorities in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024:
Defense Appropriations Act of 2024
- Increases funding by $86 million above the President’s request for the Army’s Paladin Integrated Management artillery.
- $200 million increase in funding for research, development, test, and evaluation for the E-7 airborne early warning and control aircraft in order to help accelerate this replacement for the aging E-3 AWACS platform at Tinker Air Force base.
- Research for a wide variety of Army, Air Force, and Navy development programs to address some of the DoD’s highest priority modernization and capability enhancement priorities.
- Fully funds the Air Force’s B-52 engine replacement program.
- Fully funds the F-35 engine core upgrade effort.
Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2024
- $283.5M for border security technology, with $163.5M for Integrated Surveillance Towers and Autonomous Surveillance Towers.
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2024
- Report language that directs the Federal Communications Commission to study the demands associated with edge provider data transmitted over rural broadband networks.
- $28 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions’ Native Initiatives Programs.
- $5 million for the Small Business Administration’s Native American Outreach.
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2024
- Full funding included for foreign military financing for Israel.
- $1.4 billion included for international narcotics control and law enforcement.
- $10.03 billion included for global health programs.
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act of 2024
- $95 million in tribal set-asides in the Department of Health and Human Services for opioid and addiction treatment, HIV/AIDS and chronic disease prevention, and support for health care professionals.
- $201 million for heart disease and stroke prevention, ALS, and Interstitial Cystitis research at the Centers for Disease Control.
- $4.17 billion towards strategic biomedical and pandemic preparedness and response programs.
- $46.7 billion for the National Institutes of Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, including $431 million for institutional development awards, an increase of $300 million in discretionary budget authority.
- $100 million increase for Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias research at the National Institutes of Health.
- $60 million for medical student education programs in the Department of Health and Human Services to support graduate education in states with the most severe health provider shortages.
- $24 million for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- $60.5 million for Native American programs in the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services.
- $6 million for Improving Native American Cancer Outcomes in the National Institutes of Health.
- $47 million for the Tribal behavioral health and substance abuse prevention grants in the Department of Health and Human Services.
- $12.3 billion for the Head Start program in the Department of Health and Human Services, which serves over nine thousand students in Oklahoma.
- $1.2 billion for Federal TRIO programs in the Department of Education.
- $388 million for GEAR UP at the Department of Education.
- $50 million for Native American aging and disability support services.
- $60 million for Indian and Native American programs in the Department of Labor.
- $4 million for the center for indigenous innovation and health equity in the Department of Health and Human Services.
- $3 million for State Indian Child Welfare Act Compliance under the Department of Health and Human Services.
- $1.5 billion for Impact Aid Basic Support payments program in the Department of Education, including for the 181 school districts in Oklahoma that receive this aid to serve military and Native children.
- $64 million for Tribal postsecondary education programs.
- $440 million for the Charter Schools program in the Department of Education.
- $36 million for the Special Olympics in the Department of Education.
- $2 million for the child abuse hotline in the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Keeps the Hyde Amendment in place.
