Civil and Human Rights Coalition Responds to Omnibus Spending Package

WASHINGTON – Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to the announcement of an omnibus spending bill:

“Although this is not the clean budget we have been asking for, the strong work of advocates inside and outside Congress has minimized the number of ideological riders that could hurt the diverse communities represented by The Leadership Conference. This compromise spending package is not nearly as bad as it could have been, and for that, we should all be thankful.

We’re pleased that this $1.15 trillion omnibus appropriations bill raises the sequester caps for non-defense discretionary spending, providing much needed investment in, and relief to, our communities. 

But there are still real problems with this package including:

·         The 10-month clean extension given to the abused and misused EB-5 regional center program means that low-income rural and urban communities will continue to be robbed of the jobs and investment that the program was designed to create, and the odious practice of gerrymandering of census tracts will continue unabated.

·         The ‘Jumpstart GSE Reform’ provision will prolong the 2008 bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while doing nothing to help Congress invent a better mortgage finance system.

·         Key changes to the Visa Waiver Program will result in discrimination on the basis of national origin and penalize other visitors simply for being honest about their prior travels, neither of which will improve national security.

We hope that we can mitigate and solve these issues in the next session of Congress.”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president of 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.