Rep. Cisneros Secures Defense Priorities in the House-Passed Appropriations Package

July 1, 2019
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39) announced the House passage of the fiscal year (FY) Defense Appropriations Act in H.R. 2740, the first FY 2020 Appropriations Package. Rep. Cisneros worked with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to secure funding for domestic and international defense priorities.

“I’m proud to have worked with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to ensure DoD’s spending is actively supporting the wellbeing of our nation and our interests abroad,” said Rep. Cisneros. “From humanitarian demining activities in Southeast Asia to actively finding solutions to curb our military’s high rates of sexual assault, the secured defense priorities reflects our nation’s commitment to hold itself to a higher moral standard.”

During consideration of the bill on the House floor, Congressman Cisneros secured passage of two amendments to advance equality within the Department of Defense (DoD).  In conjunction with Rep. Speier (CA-14) and fellow members of the LGBT Equality Caucus, Congressman Cisneros offered an amendment to prohibit the Department of Defense to use funds to implement the President’s transgender servicemember ban. Additionally, working with his colleagues on the House Armed Service Committee, Rep. Carbajal (CA-24), Congressman Cisneros offered an amendment to increase funding for Improved Outer Tactical Vests for servicewomen by $5 million. The funding will help ensure availability of properly designed and fitted combat equipment for female service members who are in physically demanding occupations like infantry. 

Rep. Cisneros is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Summaries of key provisions advanced by Rep. Cisneros are below:

  • $14.7 Million for the DoD Humanitarian Demining Research and Development program - Congressman Cisneros led a bipartisan letter with Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR) to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in support of strong funding levels for the program, which supports the development of new equipment and techniques to benefit demining activities and improve the technology available for U.S. military forces.  The funding provided under this bill represents the highest funding level since FY 2011.
  • $3 million increase for Air Force RDT&E Weather Service for improved storm observations and modeling to track atmospheric rivers - Congressman Cisneros led a letter in support of a $3 million increase in funding for this research and development account.  Atmospheric rivers are a weather phenomenon responsible for approximately 90% of all flooding events in the western US. The requested $3 million increase provided under this bill will support additional atmospheric observations and meteorological data collection that will improve forecasting and response to these weather events that are exacerbated by climate change. 
  • Bill language to require DoD to buy American flags made in America using American grown and manufactured materials - Congressman Cisneros signed a bipartisan letter organized by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Congressman Peter King (D-NY) requesting this critical Buy America provision.
  • Report Language to encourage diversity among officer ranks at DoD - Congressman Cisneros signed a letter led by Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) to secure the following report language: “Minorities remain underrepresented in the general officer ranks across the Services. To build a more diverse organization, the Committee supports efforts to conduct effective outreach and recruiting programs focused on increasing officer accessions in minority communities and encourages the Secretary of Defense and the Service Secretaries to support efforts, with both personnel and resources, to improve diversity in the military.”
  • $920 million for the congressionally directed medical research program - Congressman Cisneros signed letters in support of numerous scientific research programs under DoD, including Prostate Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Breast Cancer.

Additional provisions added to the bill: 

  • Prohibits the use of Defense funds for the President’s border wall at our troops’ expense. 
  • Increases funding above the President’s request for the Department and Services’ Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs for a total of $297 million.
  • Provides $172 million for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
  • Provides $1.26 billion for Environmental Restoration activities.
  • Includes $13M for study and assessment of former and current domestic military installations known to have PFOS/PFOA contamination. 
  • Provides full funding necessary to support the proposed 3.1 percent military pay raise. 
Issues: 
Armed Services & Defense