Washington, D.C. –Today, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-7) released the following statement after voting for the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government for the rest of FY2011.

“I am pleased that Congress was able to work together to fully fund government operations through the end of this fiscal year. Today, I voted to compromise.  The compromise on the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution reached by the House, Senate and White House was not perfect.  However, such a compromise was necessary to prevent a government shutdown.

This proposal is an improvement from the previous House-passed FY2011 Continuing Resolution (H.R.1) and represents an important step toward putting our Nation back on a path to fiscal responsibility.

The legislative measure that I supported today protects programs that are vitally important to the 7th Congressional District.  This measure will:

• Fund Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition programs at $6.7 Billion, which is $250 million above what H.R. 1 proposed;
• Fund Head Start at $7.6 billion, which is $1.5 billion higher than what H.R 1 proposed and $350 million more than it was funded in 2010.  This will protect the current enrollment and create increased spots for newborns, infants and toddlers;
• Fund Community Development Block Grants at $3.34 billion, which is $1.8 billion higher than H.R. 1 proposed;
• Fund Title X family planning programs at $300 million, which H.R.1 proposed to zero out;
• And maintain the current maximum Pell Grant award for students at $5,550.

Additionally, this agreement ensures that our men and women in uniform will receive a paycheck, our national parks and museums will remain open and other government services will be maintained. 

Without a doubt, we must reduce our national budget, and Congress must work together to make the tough choices about which programs to cut.  However, such cuts cannot be done on the backs of our communities, children, families and seniors. 

I remain committed to responsibly reducing the deficit, but not at the cost of critical programs that service and support our most vulnerable communities. I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop a solution for the 2012 budget that will reduce our deficit and strengthen the economy and the lives of our children, seniors and families.”

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Contact:   Allison Abney;   (202) 225-2665;   Allison.abney@mail.house.gov