Congressman García’s Statement on Government Funding Package

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) issued the following statement after voting to approve the government funding package for Fiscal Year 2023. 

“I came to Washington to deliver for people in Chicago and across our district, and on top of the billions it would provide to the state of Illinois, this package includes a record $27 million in funding I helped secure for community projects across our districtthat address a long history of federal disinvestment in our communities. 

“This bill takes important steps to support working people across the country. It makes the government better equipped to fight corporate greed by strengthening antitrust law and bolsters worker organizing by increasing funding for the National Labor Relations Board for the first time in nearly 10 years. Finally, it includes a historic piece of legislation that requires employers to provide accommodations for pregnant workers. 

“The bill includes provisions that drive economic justice. It provides summer food assistance for low-income families, summer meals for rural and low-income schools, and increases the maximum Pell Grant for low-income college students by $500. It provides $27 billion for disaster relief across the country, allocating $1 billion to strengthen Puerto Rico’s electric grid, including assistance for low-income and vulnerable households to purchase and install renewable energy.  The bill also funds the replacement of lead pipes across the country. Finally, it preserves Medicaid increases for US territories. These are crucial and overdue investments.

“Still, this bill is far from perfect. It is regrettable that this funding package ignored the urgent need for a path to citizenship for immigrant youth, DACA recipients, farm workers, and other migrants who have been in our country sometimes for decades. Though I am happy this package includes $800 million in aidfor asylum seekers, immigrants and asylum seekers deserve better.

“It’s unconscionable that we were able to allocate nearly a trillion dollars for a bloated defense budget, but we failed to make permanent several programs that provided stability and relief for working families, like the expanded monthly refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The monthly expanded CTC payments reduced child poverty by 30 percent, and the expanded EITC helped an estimated 17 million workers. The failure to extend these expanded programs will leave families without critical economic support at a time when the cost of essential goods and services are near record highs.

“I voted for this funding package because, on balance, it will help create a more equitable future for our country. But I want to make one point clear: there is no reason this Congress should end without a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients or the reinstatement of the child tax credit. When we begin the next Congress in a matter of days, the fight for working people will continue.” 

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