Dear Constituent,

Today, I voted against the partisan Republican government funding bill that harms American veterans, seniors, and families while giving Elon Musk and President Trump leeway to shut off and repurpose funding as they see fit. The bill was passed out of the U.S. House virtually along party lines and will now be considered in the U.S. Senate.

I could not in good faith vote in favor of this partisan funding bill that fails to lower costs for the American people, harms our environment, and makes Americans less safe and less healthy.

Veterans, seniors, and working families all lose with this bill, and Republicans who control the majority of the House are to blame.

Republicans are numerically in control and so the blame for a potential shutdown falls squarely on their shoulders.

Fiscal Year 2025 Community Project Funding requests are also not funded in this legislation in any congressional district. Because the Republican Majority has declined to incorporate these federal investment opportunities into their bill, the plug has potentially been pulled on $16.45 million in Community Project Funding for a number of projects in the greater metropolitan Baltimore area.

More information on what's inside the partisan House Republican funding bill can be found below:

The Republican government funding bill hurts the middle class in Baltimore and makes it harder for working families to get by.

Social Security Administration – Allows Elon Musk and President Trump to fire thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration, which would result in closures of Social Security offices, increased wait times for the 1-800 number, and unacceptable backlogs for Social Security beneficiaries trying to access their earned benefits.
Increases Housing Insecurity in Baltimore – This bill cuts rent subsidies for public housing and lower-income and working families in Baltimore, increasing a burden on men and women who too often already struggle to make ends meet and too often live with the possibility of an eviction. Veterans, survivors of domestic violence, seniors, and individuals with disabilities will be especially affected by the cuts.
K-12 Education – Funding for Democratic education priorities, such as grants for school-based mental health services and community schools, could be transferred to fund Trump administration priorities, such as charter schools.
Student Financial Assistance for College Students – Funding for student financial assistance programs would be at risk, including funding for Federal Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
The Emergency Food Program – Neglects to fully fund the Emergency Food Program (TEFAP) by $20 million at a time of rising food costs and would leave 25,000 seniors unable to participate in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) – The DRF will not be able to get through the remainder of the fiscal year and will need an influx of funding to address disasters throughout this fiscal year – especially with an approaching hurricane season. The fund is currently on pace to meet only the most dire immediate life and safety needs by late spring – in the middle of tornado season and well before hurricane season starts in June.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Fails to provide additional resources for regulating the securities industry, enforcing securities laws, and protecting investors by ensuring fair and efficient markets, fostering transparency and preventing fraud.
Small Business Administration (SBA) – Programs that benefit entrepreneurs, including veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, could be cut or eliminated.
Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Projects – Cuts $1.4 billion (44 percent) from Corps Construction activities and all project funding levels will be at the discretion of the administration, including for over 1,000 projects throughout the country that would otherwise be directed by Congress. These projects keep commerce safely flowing on our waterways, manage flood risk, and restore ecosystems.

The Republican government funding bill makes Americans less healthy, more vulnerable to deadly diseases.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Cuts funding for NIH by $280 million due to reduced funding transferred from the 21st Century Cures Act. Congressional directives to support biomedical research priorities would disappear, including directives related to research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, mental health, maternal mortality, infectious diseases, genetic diseases, rare diseases, and countless other health conditions.
Health and Education Programs for Underserved Populations – Specific funding allocations for programs to assist underserved populations would be at risk, including programs such as health workforce training, minority health and women’s health, TRIO and GEAR UP programs, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Funding for CDC would be allocated under 13 broad public health categories, ranging from $210 million to $1.4 billion, instead of being allocated to more than 130 public health programs and activities, specified by Congress, which would shift control over public health priorities from Congress to the administration.
Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) – Funding levels for some programs within VHA, such as homelessness assistance grants, mental health care, rural health, opioid and substance abuse programs, some oncology programs, and caregivers support, are not specified. The administration could redirect these funds to other purposes or eliminate them.
Veterans’ Healthcare – Due to the success of the PACT Act, more veterans are enrolled in VA care than ever. While the bill includes $6 billion in mandatory funds to address the fiscal year 2025 shortfall, this bill fails to advance fund the $22.8 billion in fiscal year 2026, which House Republicans included in their bill. Reneging on this funding means future uncertainty in medical care for veterans.

The Republican government funding bill also makes Americans less safe.

Office of National Drug Control Policy – The nearly $300 million High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, which ensures communities are equipped with the necessary resources to coordinate law enforcement strategies adequately to combat drugs, including opioids such as fentanyl, would not be directed to prioritize states with the highest overdose death rates when designating new areas.
Prioritizes Detention Beds, Including Restarting Family Detention Beds, Over Counter-Fentanyl and Other Cross-Border Enforcement Efforts – Provides ICE with close to a $10 billion blank check to continue its ongoing efforts to increase detention beds with no oversight guardrails or assurances that other critical homeland security operations and investigations, such as countering fentanyl and illicit narcotics, combatting human trafficking, and other transnational criminal activities are prioritized.
Cuts Local Transportation Safety Projects – Cuts $2 billion in Congressionally directed projects designated to improve the safety of our airports, railways, roads, and ports across all 50 states and U.S. territories at a time when the Trump administration has unlawfully frozen more than $60 billion in grants to public and private partners who help protect the traveling public and lower the costs to transport our fuel, agriculture, and U.S. manufactured goods. This bill does nothing to hold Department of Transportation (DOT) accountable for its unlawful actions to freeze funds while also cutting basic transportation improvements projects that both Republicans and Democrats secured funding for in their districts.
Maritime Security – Jeopardizes maritime readiness by shortchanging the Department of Transportation’s critical maritime fleet construction program that provides the Department of Defense supply chain logistics support and refueling needs, while also failing to meet the requirements of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 funding levels.
Federal Aviation Administration – Provides a blank check to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the amount of $4 billion, enabling Elon Musk to direct contracts to Starlink and SpaceX (companies owned by Musk) at a time when unvetted and unchecked SpaceX employees have burrowed in the FAA (the same Federal agency that regulates SpaceX), with no requirement for public transparency, fair competition, or Congressional approval. This comes at a time when mission-critical jobs have been cut at the FAA and Elon Musk’s spaceships exploded across the United States and Caribbean during two failed space launches since January.

The Republican government funding bill harms our environment.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Funding levels within the EPA are not specified, and the administration could eliminate funding for climate change, Environmental Justice, and PFAS research.
Renewable Energy – Funding within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement could be eliminated.
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture – Cuts $37 million from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture to support agricultural research across the country.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service – All funding levels will be at the administration’s discretion. This includes nearly $2 billion in research priorities across the country that Congress would cede control of over to the administration, potentially putting at risk key investments in barley and smoke taint research.
Department of Energy’s Climate-Related Energy and Science Programs – Does not provide guidance to the $15 billion in climate-related funding that will then be at the whim of the administration.
International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) – Reduces the construction funds available to the IBWC by 50% – reducing the ability to do needed repairs and maintenance to water infrastructure on the border.

Sincerely,

Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress