Ross, Schakowsky, Matsui, Sewell, Gallego, and 130+ House Democrats Call on Leadership to Advance Appropriations Bills Free of Poison Pill Riders

During government funding impasse, lawmakers are urging leadership to advance clean funding bills free of contentious provisions

Washington, D.C. —Representatives Deborah Ross (NC-02), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Terri Sewell (AL-07), and Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) led 139 House Democrats in a letter to House and Appropriations Committee leadership requesting that they advance responsible appropriations legislation free of poison pill provisions and adequately fund non-defense discretionary programs at the caps agreed to in the bipartisan debt ceiling package. The letter comes as House Republicans continue to hijack the appropriations process in attempts to enact harmful, extreme policies.

Proposed riders would ban mifepristone, block efforts to reduce gun violence, enable discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, and more. Click here for examples of the hundreds of contentious provisions offered to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills. 

The lawmakers wrote: “Bogging down the appropriations process with controversial policy debates will create another damaging political impasse. Given our country’s many ongoing challenges and urgent needs, the House of Representatives must work cooperatively to complete the appropriations process in a timely manner. Clean funding bills – free of contentious poison pill riders – represent the best path forward as we work to fulfill our duty to the American people to keep the federal government running.” 

Furthermore, House Republicans continue to push leadership to lower non-defense discretionary spending caps set by the bipartisan debt ceiling package. The lawmakers are urging leadership to adhere to the guidelines mandated by this bipartisan deal. 

The letter is endorsed by: Action on Smoking and Health, American Bird Conservancy, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, American Economic Liberties Project, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers, American Library Association, Americans for Financial Reform, Appliance Standards Awareness Project, Center for Progressive Reform, Children's Defense Fund, Coalition for Sensible Safeguards, Coalition on Human Needs, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Earthjustice, Economic Policy Institute, Environmental Defense Fund, First Focus on Children, Friends of the Earth, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, League of Conservation Voters, National Employment Law Project, National Parks Conservation Association, New Jersey Association on Correction, Oceana, Population Action International, Public Citizen, Public Justice Center, The Impact Fund, The Wilderness Society, and Voices for Progress. 

The letter is signed by Representatives Alma Adams, Colin Allred, Jake Auchincloss, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Ami Bera, Don Beyer, Earl Blumenauer, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Suzanne Bonamici, Jamaal Bowman, Brendan Boyle, Julia Brownley, Shontel Brown, Nikki Budzinski, Cori Bush, Yadira Caraveo, Salud Carbajal, Tony Cárdenas, André Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Joaquin Castro, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Judy Chu, Yvette Clarke, Steve Cohen, Gerald Connolly, J. Correa, Joe Courtney, Angie Craig, Jasmine Crockett, Danny Davis, Don Davis, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Suzan DelBene, Chris Deluzio, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Veronica Escobar, Anna Eshoo, Adriano Espaillat, Dwight Evans, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Maxwell Frost, Ruben Gallego, John Garamendi, Jesús "Chuy" García, Robert Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gottheimer, Al Green, Raúl Grijalva, Steven Horsford, Chrissy Houlahan, Val Hoyle, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Jeff Jackson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Hank Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ann Kuster, Summer Lee, Mike Levin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Stephen Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Kathy Manning, Doris Matsui, Lucy McBath, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, Morgan McGarvey, James McGovern, Robert Menendez, Kweisi Mfume, Gwen Moore, Jared Moskowitz, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Grace Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Wiley Nickel, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Norton, Frank Pallone, Jimmy Panetta, Chris Pappas, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Mary Peltola, Scott Peters, Katie Porter, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Deborah Ross, Raul Ruiz, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sánchez, John Sarbanes, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Adam Schiff, Brad Schneider, David Scott, Bobby Scott, Terri Sewell, Adam Smith, Eric Sorensen, Darren Soto, Melanie Stansbury, Greg Stanton, Haley Stevens, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Bennie Thompson, Mike Thompson, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Paul Tonko, Lori Trahan, Juan Vargas, Marc Veasey, Nydia Velázquez, Maxine Waters, Nikema Williams, and Frederica Wilson. 

Full text of the letter is available here.