Rep. Vargas Proudly Highlights Funding for Programs Essential to District
WASHINGTON, DC (January 15, 2014) – Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted on and passed the Fiscal Year 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act:
“Today’s omnibus appropriations bill was a much-needed step towards funding our government in a responsible and bipartisan manner. This bill includes essential investments that put our nation back on the path of job creation, innovation, education, and social justice.
“I was pleased to see funding for key programs that protect our children, women and seniors.
WIC will now be able to meet anticipated needs, Senior Nutrition programs will see a full restoration of meals, and increased funding for the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program and Section 8 will ensure that families continue to have heat and housing.
“As a tireless advocate for children’s education, I successfully fought to ensure that the current cuts to Head Start were eliminated and further investments were made in Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships.
“In addition, the overall well-being of our military personnel and veterans was addressed by provisions to end sexual assault and support victims, and repeal last year’s cut to cost-of-living-adjustments for disabled military retirees and survivors. New tools and resources were included to eliminate the backlog of veterans’ disability claims.
“However, this bill fell short on other issues that are of great importance to me. The package does not restore unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans struggling to find employment and biomedical research continues to remain under-funded, stalling life-saving treatments.
“While this bill is not perfect, I acknowledge that it is the result of tireless dedication and delicate compromises. This bill is a true bipartisan effort and I hope that future budget proceedings in Congress preserve the same spirit of cooperation. I supported this omnibus and look forward to working in the coming year to address its shortcomings.”
Vargas represents California’s 51st Congressional District which includes the southern portion of San Diego County, all of Imperial County and California’s entire US/Mexico border. Vargas is currently serving his first term in Congress. He represented the 40th California State Senate District from 2010-2012, the 79th California State Assembly District from 2000 – 2006 and served on the San Diego City Council from 1993 – 2000.