Rep. Lee Blocks Pay Raise for Members of Congress, Combats Opioid Epidemic in Bipartisan FY2020 Budget

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Reps Susie Lee (Nev.-03) helped pass the bipartisan Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Appropriations package through the House of Representatives to fully fund the federal government for fiscal year 2020. Now that the House has passed a bipartisan budget to fully fund the government for FY2020, the Senate and the President must approve spending legislation to avoid a government shutdown.

The final House appropriations bill included three amendments that Rep. Lee secured and fought for. Rep. Lee's three amendments secure $50 million for Graduate Medical Education (GME) slots to address southern Nevada's doctor shortage, increase funding for the Drug-Free Communities Program to help local communities combat the opioid epidemic, and block a pay raise for members of Congress.

Rep. Lee also helped secure repeals of harmful tax increases on Nevada families. The House-passed appropriations package includes a bipartisan repeal of the Cadillac tax, a 40 percent tax on employer health insurance plans; a bipartisan repeal of the medical device tax, a 2.3 percent tax on the sale of all medical devices intended for use in the U.S.; and a bipartisan repeal of the health insurance tax, a tax on insurance providers that is estimated to raise premiums by up to $500 per person, ultimately passing the tax on to consumers.

"When it comes to spending taxpayer dollars, it's important to fund programs that are effective while also finding areas in the budget that may waste taxpayer dollars or harm the pocketbooks of hard-working Americans," said Rep. Lee. "That's why I'm glad to have secured funding to address southern Nevada's opioid epidemic and doctor shortage crisis, while also saving taxpayer dollars and protecting working families by repealing burdensome tax increases including the Cadillac tax, medical device tax, and health insurance tax increases."

"Speaking of spending taxpayer dollars wisely, I made sure a pay raise for members of Congress was not included in the final House budget," Rep. Lee continued. "It's unfair to the American people to give ourselves a raise while far too many families continue to struggle to make ends meet."

BACKGROUND: Rep. Lee's amendment to increase funding for Graduate Medical Education positions is in direct response to southern Nevada's severe doctor shortage crisis. This bill increases funding for Teaching Health Centers that operate GME programs by $53 million. The amendment was adopted with broad bipartisan support, with over 130 Republicans voting in favor. With this funding, hospitals and facilities will be able to take on more medical school graduates for residencies and internships.

In September, Reps. Susie Lee and Katie Porter (Calif.-45) wrote a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, urging both chambers to include increased funding for GME programs in the final Fiscal Year 2020 budget.

The Drug-Free Communities Program combats the nationwide opioid epidemic by directly investing in local solutions and community-based action to preventing and combating opioid abuse and addiction. Rep. Lee's amendment increases investment into this important community program by $750,000.

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