WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, the House passed an omnibus spending bill in a bipartisan vote keeping the government open through September 30. The omnibus legislation includes an amendment Rep. Sewell introduced in 2017 prohibiting federal funding for unsafe child care centers, as well as additional funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and increased funding she helped secure for rural wastewater infrastructure.

“Today’s vote to keep the government open for the rest of the fiscal year and fund critical public services is an important step forward and a testament to effective, bipartisan cooperation,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “On issues ranging from healthcare to infrastructure to education, this bill takes a commonsense approach to addressing some of the biggest challenges my constituents and many Americans face.”

“I was proud to see that today’s omnibus legislation includes an amendment I introduced to stop unsafe child care centers from receiving taxpayer money. After the tragic death of five-year-old Kamden Johnson last summer, I worked to develop legislation prohibiting daycares with a history of health and safety violations from receiving federal funds and I’m looking forward to it becoming law in this bipartisan package. ”

“In addition, the extra $1.8 billion in federal funding for water and wastewater infrastructure is going to have a real life impact for millions of working families in the Black Belt and across rural America,” said Rep. Sewell. “In my district, I have met with stakeholders, from health experts to engineers, and toured homes with no access to proper wastewater systems. The funding included in today’s legislation takes an important step towards addressing the deteriorating and inadequate wastewater conditions that have exacerbated economic and health challenges in rural America.”

“The omnibus bill also increases federal funding for our HBCUs by 14 percent, including $10 million for certain private HBCUs, like Stillman College, which faces financial challenges. Investments in our HBCUs are investments in the future of our workforce and upward economic mobility. I will continue working in a bipartisan manner to increase financial access to higher education for my constituents and to strengthen the financial footing of HBCUs across the country.”

In September, the House adopted an amendment by Rep. Sewell prohibiting federal grant funding from going to child care centers with a record of injury or death due to health or safety violations. The amendment’s adoption in a package of appropriations bills followed the death of five-year-old Kamden Johnson at an Alabama day care center.

Experts suggest that 30 percent of homes in some parts of rural Alabama have failing septic systems, while another 15 percent of homes discharge sewage directly into the surrounding area. In February, Rep. Sewell toured homes in Lowndes County to survey wastewater infrastructure in Alabama’s Black Belt. Rep. Sewell has also worked with the Alabama Department of Public Health to make sure that residents with health problems associated with deteriorating wastewater infrastructure receive the help they need. In 2013, she helped secure over $1 million in funding to connect 50 homes and businesses in White Hall, Alabama, to municipal septic lines. In 2012, she helped Uniontown secure $5 million through the same program for wastewater infrastructure issues. The water and wastewater funding in today’s bill will help expand and improve these and many of the wastewater projects Rep. Sewell has secured funding for while she has been in Congress.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.