Appropriations Bills Containing Key Pappas Priorities Pass House

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) voted for passage of a package of bipartisan funding bills that includes projects and funding Pappas fought for to strengthen public safety, live up to the promises made to our veterans, support Main Street businesses, and address New Hampshire’s housing crisis. This package will create good-paying American jobs, protect access to reproductive health care, bolster our national security, grow opportunities for the middle class and rural communities, and support working families.

"I’m glad to see the House come together today to support our communities and working families with this overwhelmingly bipartisan vote,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “It’s critical that we provide funding for the services that families, veterans, law enforcement, and small businesses rely on, and this package delivers for them while also supporting our national security and providing the resources needed to address New Hampshire’s housing shortage. This deal will help New Hampshire communities thrive, and I hope the Senate takes it up swiftly and delivers it to the President’s desk for his signature.”

The government funding package will:

Provide over $9 million in funding secured by Pappas for community projects. The package includes funding secured by Pappas for key projects that will invest in New Hampshire’s water and sewer infrastructure, support the development of new housing, help open a child care facility, and provide for essential public safety operations.

Support New Hampshire’s small businesses. Following Pappas’s advocacy and the introduction of his Promoting Rural Exports Act, the package provides $1.5 million for the National Rural Export Center to help small, rural businesses export their products, a 50% increase over 2023 levels. The package also provides $41 million in funding for the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) to target the economic development needs of distressed portions of New Hampshire. Pappas also helped secure $6 million for the Acer Access and Development Program, which supports New Hampshire maple syrup producers; $175 million for Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, which help small and medium sized manufacturers create and preserve good-paying jobs; and funding for the Economic Development Agency, which provides funding for the development of the ReGen Valley Tech Hub in Manchester. 

Improve public safety. Pappas secured $9 million in funding for the Children Exposed to Violence program to help mitigate adverse reactions in children exposed to violence. These appropriations efforts are based on Pappas’s National ACERT Grant Program Authorization Act and part of his effort to bring New Hampshire’s proven ACERT model to communities across the country. Pappas also secured $547 million in funding for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, which coordinates activities across departments to target high-level criminal organizations and networks, including opioid traffickers; as well as funding for a national level study assessing the work being done nationwide to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.

Protect access to reproductive health care. This package blocks efforts to limit women’s access to mifepristone. It  also increases funding for Violence Against Women Act programs and ensures that VA is able to provide women veterans with holistic reproductive health care advice and services.

Invest in New Hampshire’s rural communities. The package delivers robust funding for broadband, telemedicine, and distance learning, helping rural Granite Staters connect to the services they need. Alongside funding for National Rural Export Center and NBRC, Pappas also secured $5 million for the Northeastern State Regional Commission, which will advance their mission to support New Hampshire’s forested communities’ long-term economic and ecological strength for years to come.

Fund the United States-Israel Energy Cooperative Agreement. Pappas secured $6 million for this cooperative program that spearheads research and development in alternative energy sources, energy engineering, and water technology.

Support America’s veterans. The package provides increased funding for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and fully funds veterans’ health care, which when combined with funding provided by the Honoring Our PACT Act ensures that all currently-enrolled and newly eligible veterans will be covered. The package also boosts funding for the Veterans Benefits Administration which will in turn help reduce the disability claims backlog. Pappas also secured the inclusion of measures that will help protect the health of veterans and service members, including requiring VA to ensure all veterans have access to long-term specialty care for traumatic brain injuries and more than $900 million for women veterans programming at the VA, which will be used to hire more Women’s Health Primary Care Providers and increase the number of peer support specialists for women veterans at VA facilities.. Finally, the package delivers billions in support for veterans’ mental health care, including suicide prevention, and billions for homelessness assistance programs. 

Provide essential support for our military and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The package includes $2.4 billion for Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Plan (SIOP) projects, a nearly 100% increase in these funds. The package provides $544.8 million specifically for the PNSY Multi-Mission Drydock #1 Extension Project, improving our national security and ensuring PNSY will continue to be a key driver of economic growth on New Hampshire’s Seacoast. Additionally, Pappas secured provisions requiring the Department of Defense to report on how to improve the management and oversight of SIOP to better support public shipyards, improve project management, and ensure it best provides for our national security. 

Fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and improve air safety. The package provides increased funding for the FAA, including a 7% increase to the FAA Operations budget which will fund the expansion of America’s national air traffic controller workforce by 1,800, combating dangerous staffing shortages and ensure the safety of the flying public.

Combat New Hampshire’s housing crisis. In addition to projects secured by Pappas that will support the development of new housing units in the First District, the package provides an additional $3.4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, supporting programs that provide Granite Staters with rental assistance, fund programs that support housing insecure veterans, and support the development new affordable housing.

Address hunger and nutrition. The package provides $7.03 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to ensure the eligible participants continue to receive the nutrition assistance and support they deserve. WIC serves nearly 7 million women and kids nationwide and serves about half of all infants born in the U.S., including more than 13,000 Granite State participants. The package also provides $389 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which delivers high quality USDA food boxes to low-income seniors.