Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) released the following statement after the House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Act. The bill includes $177.1 billion in discretionary funding to provide increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), address the opioid epidemic and substance abuse, and further invest in our nation’s biodefense capabilities.     

“As the Vice Chairman of the LHHS Subcommittee, I am proud to play a part in advancing this crucial piece of legislation out of the Appropriations Committee. Investing in biomedical research to uncover scientific breakthroughs and lifesaving cures for disease – like pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or diabetes – is essential to the health of the nation. By recognizing this and the priorities of Arkansans, this bill affirms our dedication to improving the lives of people back home in the Third District and across the country. I look forward to swift consideration and support by the House as a whole.”

Congressman Steve Womack has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He serves as the Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget and is a member of the House Appropriations defense, military construction-veterans affairs, and labor-health and human services subcommittees.

womack.house.gov

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