Civil and Human Rights Coalition Supports Bipartisan Budget Deal

WASHINGTON—Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement regarding the new budget deal announced this morning:

“We applaud the White House and congressional leaders who negotiated the budget deal introduced late last night for their hard work in crafting a bipartisan, two-year bill that will raise the caps on spending for both defense and non-defense discretionary spending and provide needed relief for underfunded programs that serve our communities. While we are still reviewing the fine print, we hope that Republicans and Democrats in Congress will join together to pass the bill in the coming days, eliminating the threat of a government default and shutdown.

One issue that remains unresolved, however, is that of ideological policy riders. We will be watching the appropriations process to ensure that no ideological riders are part of any final spending package. Backdoor legislating through the budget and appropriations process is unacceptable and should play no part in the final deal.”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president for policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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