Senator Coons statement on vote to pass appropriations package

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement in response to the Senate's passage of five full-year appropriations bills and a short-term continuing resolution:

"I'm glad that Senate Democrats were successfully able to forge a deal that separates out full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security so we can move forward on five critical bills that will bring much needed relief to Americans across the country. These appropriations bills - including my defense bill - are the result of months of bipartisan negotiations and include incredible victories. They reject the president's proposals to cut medical research and restore critical education programs. They protect funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, invest in affordable housing and access to affordable health care, give our warfighters a raise, and fully fund our international commitments, stopping President Trump's dangerous and ill-conceived efforts to pull away from NATO and other international organizations. They also include $70 million in investments for projects up and down Delaware.

"The continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security is not the end of our work to stop the abusive and violent actions of ICE and CBP agents over the last year; it is the beginning. Because of the immense pressure those in Minnesota and across the country have brought to bear, Republicans and the White House will have to negotiate on commonsense reforms to rein in unaccountable and out-of-control ICE agents. I will spend the next two weeks pushing my colleagues in Congress to enact meaningful reforms that put strong guardrails around DHS and its agents and bring them in line with what we expect from every other law enforcement agency in the country. This is the first step towards more accountable, transparent immigration enforcement and a safer nation."