Congressman Maxwell Frost Statement on H.Res. 1061
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) released a statement on H.Res. 1061 the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.
In a statement, Rep. Frost says:
“For over a year, we have watched extremist House Republicans plunge the House of Representatives into total dysfunction as they held our government hostage to try to defund food assistance and affordable housing and enact hateful anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
“Today, thanks to Leader Jeffries and my Democratic colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, we have a package that will help us protect some of our most vital social programs and keep the government open, avoiding a catastrophic shutdown.
“While I acknowledge that difficult decisions had to be made to achieve this deal, and I was ready to support a bipartisan compromise, this bill includes a Republican poison pill that, despite Democrats' best efforts, could not be removed.
“H.Res. 1061 features the greatest rollback of background checks for gun purchasers in the recent history of our country. Included in the legislation is a 1-year policy change that would allow veterans determined by the VA to be mentally incompetent to be able to buy guns without this mental incompetence ruling showing up in a background check.
“This rollback of background checks could mean that each year, 20,000 people who may not be safe to have access to guns can now easily purchase them.
“As an organizer and survivor, fighting to end gun violence has been the fight of my life. A fight that got me all the way to the halls of Congress, where my constituents sent me to represent them as someone from the very district where 49 angles lost their lives at the Pulse Nightclub shooting and a state home to the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“I cannot in good conscience support legislation like H.Res. 1061 that takes us three steps back on something as common sense as background checks. I came to Congress to move gun violence prevention efforts forward, not backward.
“I am, however, encouraged that the legislation passed includes funding for all 15 of the Community Project Funding requests I submitted and fought for on behalf of Central Florida. This means my team is one step closer to ensuring that nearly $12 million federal dollars are brought back to the Orlando area to support affordable housing, invest in transportation infrastructure, and support local seniors.”
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