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DeLauro Statement on Trump Administration’s Reallocation of $446 Million in HHS Funds to Unaccompanied Children Program

September 20, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC(September 20, 2018)- Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement in response to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar's notification that HHS intends to reallocate up to $446 million of Fiscal Year 2018 funding from other HHS programs to the Unaccompanied Children program.

"The Trump administration should not rob funds from vital health and human services initiatives to make up for their failed immigration policies. Appropriators in Congress worked hard to ensure that programs like research at the National Institutes of Health, Head Start, universal flu vaccine research, education for women on the symptoms and risks of gynecological cancers, family caregiver support services, teen pregnancy prevention, and so many more, get the funding they deserve. Cuts to these programs—especially those with relatively less funding and those that are already shortchanged—will undoubtedly affect their work and the people who count on it. That is unacceptable. If the Trump administration needs additional funding to carry out their failed policies, like the government-sanctioned child abuse that resulted from their ‘zero-tolerance policy,' they should request an emergency supplemental package from Congress instead of hiding behind transfers."

DeLauro serves as the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Health and Human Services.