Today, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) helped pass a bill to fund the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for Fiscal Year 2019. The bill also included a continuing resolution, which will fund the government through December 7.

“Today, we funded programs and priorities important to San Diego that provide critical investments to boost our economy, support our military and servicemembers, and promote higher education. It provides a pay raise and increased funding for health research for our servicemembers, higher Pell Grant awards, and added money for new Littoral Combat Ships, F-18s, and F-35s.

“I supported this package today to keep the government open because we’ve seen how government shutdowns devastate our economy, our military, and the American people. However, I still strongly believe that Congress must stop relying on these short-term fixes. They hurt our ability to plan for the long term, and in particular, it limits the ability of our Defense Department to carry out their mission. Last year, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer remarked that continuing resolutions have caused the Navy to waste billions since 2011: ‘We have put $4 billion in a trash can, poured lighter fluid on it, and burned it.’ This is not responsible stewardship of resources.”

“Predictable budgeting ensures taxpayer money is well spent. Congress must provide certainty to the American public, our military, and our economy.”

Rep. Peters voted to fund these San Diego priorities:

• $43 billion for new aircraft, including 93 F-35s and 24 F-18s
• $24.2 billion for 13 new Navy ships, including 3 Littoral Combat Ships and a new carrier
• 2.6 percent pay raise for servicemembers
• $34.4 billion for defense-related health programs, including $125 million for traumatic brain injury research
• $318 million for Sexual Assault Prevention and implementation of the Special Victims’ Counsel program
• $12.4 billion for special education state grants, $87 million more than Fiscal Year 2018
• $1.3 billion for career and technical education, a $70 million boost from Fiscal Year 2018
• $100 increase per student for maximum Pell grant award
• $3.78 billion, overall for opioids and mental health, an increase of $2.7 billion from Fiscal Year 2018
• $5.3 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants, $50 million more than Fiscal Year 2018
• $39.1 billion for the National Institute of Health, a $2 billion boost over Fiscal Year 2018 levels, including $3.1 billion for Alzheimer’s research, $5.5 billion for infectious disease research, and $86 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative
• $725 million for Community Services Block Grant
• $7.1 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention