March 22, 2018

Today Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2018, also known as the Omnibus:

“Years of inept Republican leadership have taken us from one short-term spending bill to another. That irresponsible path has culminated in a last minute 2,232 page omnibus bill dropped just 16 hours before the vote.

The bill includes a number of wins for Nevada which I championed. We were successful in blocking President Trump’s $120 million dollars to move forward with the failed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. The bill also reverses language I was fighting that would have resulted in the mass slaughter of wild horses and burros and prohibits funding for meat inspectors to allow for horse meat slaughter operations in United States. In addition, this bill sends a clear message to Attorney General Sessions that the American people oppose the Administration’s war on Nevada’s legal marijuana program by prohibiting any funding to prosecute our medical-marijuana patients and businesses. I am also supportive of the measures that increase funding for the NEA, NEH, TRIO-Gear Up, affordable housing programs, and veteran mental health services. 

Nonetheless, the bill fails on many fronts, which is why I voted no on final passage. We need to pass the DREAM Act and provide over 13,000 DREAMers in Nevada with the certainty that they will not be forced out of the only country they know as home. We also need to address market stabilization for the Affordable Care Act to prevent massive premium hikes caused by President Trump’s irresponsible rollback of the cost sharing reduction payments. We must restore funding for the vital Brand USA public-private partnership that promotes international travel to the United States which is so important to our economy. We need long-term protections for the state’s marijuana industry, including small business access to financial institutions and tax credits and lifting the prohibition on our veterans’ ability to access medical marijuana in states where it is legal. The bill included money for the Gateway Tunnel project in New York but not for I-11. It also incorporated the CLOUD Act which poses a threat to civil liberties and human rights. It kicks the can down the road, yet again, on the National Flood Insurance program and reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which is critical for our tourism and drone industries.