WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-22) released the following statement after the House voted on four Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) government funding bills. Congressman Valadao voted yes on the FY24 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, the FY24 Defense Appropriations Bill, and the FY24 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. Congressman Valadao voted no on the FY24 Agriculture, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, determining how taxpayer dollars are spent is a responsibility I take very seriously,” said Congressman Valadao. “I voted to rein in wasteful Washington spending and bureaucracy because the fiscal path our country is on is not sustainable, and we can’t continue to burden our future generations with trillions of dollars in debt. While these are by no means perfect bills, this is the first step in negotiating in a divided government, and it is now time for our Senate colleagues to bring their funding proposals to the table so we can find agreement.

“While I voted to reduce spending, I could not support the agriculture appropriations bill, which makes drastic, seemingly arbitrary cuts to the programs our farmers and rural communities in the Central Valley depend on. We must make tough choices on government funding to get our fiscal house in order, but these cuts should not be paid off the backs of our farmers and producers. I will continue doing everything I can to reduce wasteful spending and keep our government open.” 

Background:
The Appropriations Committee released the text of the Agriculture Appropriations Bill on May 17, 2023. The FY24 Agriculture Appropriations Bill was marked up by the full committee and reported out on June 14, 2023, at a funding level of $17.84 billion. For reference, the FY23 Agriculture Appropriations Bill funding level was $25.5 billion. This week, the House passed a Rule that included a self-executing amendment that further reduced the accounts under the Agriculture Appropriations Bill by an additional 14.15%. After the rule and various amendments to the bill, the estimate of the FY24 Agriculture Appropriations Bill is $14.81 billion – $3 billion less than what was reported out of the Appropriations Committee.

The House and the Senate each must pass 12 appropriations bills before September 30^th or a Continuing Resolution (CR) to buy more time to find agreement between the House, Senate, and White House on various funding levels in order to keep the government open. The House Appropriations Committee has marked up 10 of the 12 appropriations bills in Committee, and passed four off the House Floor. The Senate has passed none of its 12 appropriations bills. Congressman Valadao supports passing a Continuing Resolution to keep the government open and will continue working with his colleagues to find a path forward on government funding.