House Passes Major Funding Package Including Three of Pappas’s Amendments to Increase Funding for Opioid Abuse Programs, Expand Rural Broadband, and Improve Health Care for Female Veterans

Washington, D.C.- Today the House passed the second funding package for fiscal year 2020 which included appropriations bills for Commerce-Justice-Science, Agriculture, Interior, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD. Congressman Pappas secured three major wins for New Hampshire by successfully including amendments that increase funding for comprehensive opioid abuse programs, strengthen loan and grant programs for rural broadband deployment, and improve health care services for female veterans.

"I am proud that we were able to successfully pass another funding package that makes substantial federal investments in communities across New Hampshire," said Congressman Pappas. "With the support of my colleagues, this legislation includes three of my provisions which address the opioid epidemic by increasing funding for multidisciplinary partnerships, expands economic opportunity through incentivizing rural broadband, and looks out for our nation's veterans by improving quality of care for female veterans. I am proud to serve as an advocate for the priorities of the Granite State in Washington, and I hope the Senate will join the House to send this legislation to the President's desk."

Below are details on Congressman Pappas's amendments which were passed as part of H.R. 3055:

• Congressman Pappas's first amendment provides an additional $2 million increase fo rthe COmprehensive Opioid Abuse Program which helps fund cross-sectional programs to combat the opioid crisis. New Hampshire based programs sucha s ACERT, which aim to break the cycle of addition by connecting with children, are funded through this DOJ program.
• The second amendment Congressman Pappas helped introduce secured an additional $55 million for USDA's Rural E-Connectivity program, which makes loans and grants for broadband deployment in rural communities, which remains critical in connecting New Hampshire communities.
• Lastly, the House adopted Congressman Pappas's second amendment that urges the VA to utilize $10 million of their appropriated funding to improve medical facilities for female veterans, focusing on the top priorities determined by the non-partisan, Government Accountability Office.

H.R. 3055 is the second spending package that the House has voted on this Congress for FY 2020. The House passed H.R. 2740 last week, which included three amendments Congressman Pappas introduced to expand research on the impacts of PFAS contamination, strengthen our regional economy, and support our Army's Back-packable Communications Intelligence System technology.