WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives adopted six amendments offered by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, on July 30, 2020, which successfully amended an FY 2021 spending bill to increase funding for critical health priorities – including HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, and maternal healthcare – and to prevent the implementation of harmful Trump administration rules that weaken infection control standards in nursing homes, undermine COVID-19 data collection at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and interfere with the rule of law at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in order to benefit the president politically or personally.
“I am proud that the House adopted my amendments to expand HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and maternal healthcare services and prevent the use of funds to weaken infection control standards in nursing homes, undermine COVID-19 data collection, and interfere with the rule of law in order to benefit the president politically or personally,” said Congresswoman Waters.
The House adopted the following six amendments offered by Congresswoman Waters:[1]
- Amendment #304, cosponsored by Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Judy Chu (D-CA), to increase funding by $5 million for HIV/AIDS prevention, screening and treatment in minority communities.
- Amendment #305, cosponsored by Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), to increase funding by $5 million for public health services for Alzheimer’s patients, their families, and their caregivers.
- Amendment #306, cosponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), to increase funding by $5 million to improve maternal health care for pregnant women and help them safely deliver their babies.
- Amendment #302, cosponsored by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI), to prohibit the use of funds to implement a Trump Administration proposed rule that weakens infection prevention standards in nursing homes, which have been hit especially severely by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Amendment #303, cosponsored by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), to prohibit the use of funds to require hospitals to report COVID-19 data using a new database that circumvents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and that was developed by Peter Thiel,[2] a mega-donor to President Trump’s 2016 campaign.[3]
- Amendment #150 to prohibit the use of funds by the Attorney General to interfere in the duties and responsibilities of the United States attorneys to benefit the president politically or personally.
Congresswoman Waters’ amendments were adopted during floor consideration of H.R. 7617, which provides FY 2021 appropriations for HHS and DOJ, as well as other agencies, and which passed the House of Representatives on July 31, 2020, and is now awaiting consideration in the Senate.
“I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to continue to support these essential health services and retain my amendments in the final spending bill for FY 2021,” said Congresswoman Waters.
