U.S. Senator Katie Britt Supports More Than $6.2 Billion in Alabama Investments, Critical National Defense Priorities, Conservative Wins
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 23, 2023 – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Ranking Member of its Homeland Security Subcommittee, today joined her colleagues in passing Fiscal Year 2024 funding for Homeland Security; Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.
This legislation, which passed the House on Friday in bipartisan fashion, passed the Senate 74-24 and now heads to the President’s desk. The bill appropriates more than $6.2 billion for key Alabama priorities, of which, more than $1 billion was directly secured by Senator Britt for strategic, targeted investments across the state.
“I was glad to see Congress finally do our jobs today, and I’m grateful to send Alabamians’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars back home. This strategic funding will make key investments in Alabama’s defense capabilities and installations, rural health services, mental health research, child care, and our local communities. This legislation ensures our incredible men and women in uniform remain the best equipped, trained, and resourced in the world, while combatting the rising influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Given a divided Congress and a Democrat-controlled White House, this legislation is certainly far from perfect, but conservatives were able to secure major concessions while we made important incremental strides and delivered wins for the people of Alabama. As we finally begin the FY 2025 appropriations process, I will continue to fight to restore regular order and return fiscal sanity to our nation’s capital,” said Senator Britt.
In the Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Ranking Member Britt supported funding for 41,500 ICE detention beds and an additional $300 million in funding above FY 2023 funding levels for the transportation and removal of illegal aliens with final orders of removal. Additionally, this legislation provides funding for 2,000 additional Border Patrol agents and 150 new CBP officers at ports of entry, while slashing funding by approximately 20% for the Shelter and Services Program – a favorite program of the left.
This legislation includes funding to support the Coast Guard’s domestic and overseas missions, specifically funding for another Offshore Patrol Cutter, built in Mobile at Austal USA’s facilities. The Act also provides funding for the National Computer Forensics Institute and Homeland Security Investigations to provide law enforcement training in Hoover and Huntsville, Alabama.
Senator Britt also secured more than $841 million in the Defense Appropriations Act for Alabama that directly supports strengthening military readiness, modernizing our defense industrial base, advancing munitions procurement, and supporting service members and their families. This funding will create and sustain 21st century jobs across the state, ranging from research and development in hypersonics, to direct energy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
As part of this funding, Senator Britt secured hundreds of millions of dollars for Abrams tank restoration at Anniston Army Depot. Importantly, this Act includes a 5.2% pay raise for military servicemembers – the largest in 40 years. The legislation also prohibits funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the EcoHealth Alliance in China. Additionally, the Act appropriates $167 million for childcare initiatives for military families, including doubling four-year-old enrollment in pre-kindergarten at DOD schools and targeted investments for renovation of DOD childcare centers.
The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act includes significant funding secured by Senator Britt to modernize and upgrade medical equipment and rural health services in communities across Alabama. This bill critically maintains all legacy riders, including the Hyde Amendment and Hyde-Weldon conscience protections to protect religious exemptions for health care providers.
In the Act, Senator Britt secured $2.6 million for Helen Keller Hospital to replace generators and help more Alabamians receive excellent, high-quality medical care. She also secured over $3.9 million for the City of Talladega to support rural emergency services and $2 million for needed medical equipment at Atmore Community Hospital. Additionally, Senator Britt secured $2.5 million in directed spending for the Huntsville Hospital Health System to purchase additional ambulances to serve counties across North Alabama.
In the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, Senator Britt supported clawing back over $10 billion from the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, freezing IRS discretionary spending for the second consecutive year, and rejecting new proposals to allow the IRS to hire more quickly and pay larger salaries to its agents.
Crucially, this legislation prevents the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from using funding provided in this Act to ban gas stoves.
Senator Britt also supported $2.5 billion in funding in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act to counter the influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The funding in this Act also includes $125 million to counter fentanyl and prohibits funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
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