Golden votes for final funding package necessary to avoid another harmful government shutdown

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today voted for the remaining Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills that, if passed by the Senate, will fund the government and avoid another harmful government shutdown at the end of the month. 

A spending “minibus” to fund the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development passed the House in a bipartisan 341-88 vote. 

“Passing a budget is our primary responsibility in Congress and I’m proud to have supported this package of spending bills, which will provide some measure of relief for Americans dealing with a high cost of living by increasing funding for child care and Head Start and by funding important rental assistance programs and initiatives to combat homelessness,” Golden said. “Meanwhile, the Defense appropriation continues our commitment to shipbuilding at Bath Iron Works and to our service members, with nearly $2 billion to support the DDG program and a much-needed 3.8 percent pay increase for military personnel.” 

In a separate vote, the House funded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a bipartisan 220-207 vote. The bill funds the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The bill includes funding to outfit Border Patrol and ICE agents with body cameras and to ensure both agencies provide training in de-escalation tactics. 

“Failure to fund DHS would undermine public safety and emergency response services. To me, that was never an option,” Golden said. “By engaging in the process, rather than blocking it, we secured funding for body cameras and de-escalation training — two proven tactics embraced by law enforcement agencies across the country — that I believe will support responsible law enforcement and begin to restore trust.”

Golden noted that the two spending packages rejected roughly $163 billion of cuts proposed by the Trump administration and that, in passing all its appropriations bills rather than enacting another Continuing Resolution, Congress had reasserted its authority over the federal budget.

Among the minibus’s provisions are: 

• Public Health: $400 million in increased funding for the National Institutes of Health; a $30 million increase for the Office of Research on Women’s Health; and a rejection of proposed cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
• Addressing the Affordability Crisis: Increases funding for child care and Head Start by $170 million; provides $66.6 billion in funding for rental assistance, rejecting the administration’s effort to cut the program by 50 percent; and increases funding for Homeless Assistance Grants by $366 million.
• Transportation Infrastructure: Increases funding for the Federal Aviation Administration by $1.6 billion, including funding to hire 2,500 new air traffic controllers; and restores funding for the Amtrak Northeast Corridor plus $850 million in new funds.
• Support for Shipbuilding and Servicemembers: Nearly $2 billion in funding for construction, advance procurement and programmatic funding for the DDG family of destroyers, many of which are built at Bath Iron Works; and a 3.8 percent pay raise for all military personnel. 

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