Full House Approves Case's Appropriations Committee's Third Key Funding Bill

Statement

U.S. Congressman Ed Case (Hawai"i -- District 1) announced that today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3351, the Financial Services & General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The bill is the tenth of twelve appropriations bills reported to the full House by the Committee on Appropriations, on which Case serves, and funding a total of more than $1.3 trillion of federal programs in the next fiscal year beginning October 1st.

Case emphasized the bill's focus on securing democracy, strengthening small business and protecting consumers.

"I joined my House colleagues in funding major security improvements for our upcoming 2020 elections to ensure confidence in the results," said Case.

Case also highlighted increased support for various programs administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). "Small businesses in Hawai"i employ more than 275,000 thousand and make up some 52 percent of the private workforce," said Case. "This measure follows the advocacy of those of us who especially support small business in increasing support for starting, growing and sustaining these engines of our economy."

Case further focused on the following specifics:

"The Mueller Report couldn't have been clearer: Russia interfered with our 2016 elections, and securing our elections going forward is critical to public trust in our democracy," said Case. "The $600 million this measure will provide to states and localities will help to secure their election systems from any and all interference in 2020."
"In Hawai"i, firms with fewer than 100 employees have the largest share of small business employment," said Case. "This funding measure will provide more than $900 million to the SBA, and more than $200 million of that amount will go to SBA programs that have proven to be a success in our island state."
"Robocalls have accelerated as a major problem nationwide," said Case. "This bill calls on the Administration to step up efforts to take on this scourge, including establishing a specific office to track down and enforce the law against unwanted phone calls."

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