200+ Groups: Congress Should Pass Clean FY25 Spending Bills, Remove Legacy Poison Pills

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should pass clean FY25 spending bills with no poison pill policy riders, more than 200 groups said today in a letter to congressional lawmakers. The letter calls for members of Congress to remember the lessons of the FY24 budget cycle. 

“The FY24 federal budget negotiations were marred by frustrating delays that extended six months into the fiscal year, largely due to the persistent inclusion of policy riders and draconian cuts by House Majority lawmakers,” the letter reads.

“This not only hindered the timely allocation of resources essential for effective government operations and vital programs for everyday Americans, but also plunged the process into a state of uncertainty and confusion as Congress narrowly avoided multiple government shutdown deadlines.”

The Clean Budget Coalition led the fight to successfully remove nearly all of the 500 plus proposed poison pills from the FY24 spending bills, which passed as part of two minibus packages in March and April. 

In addition to no new poison pills in FY25, the groups are calling for the removal of more than 60 legacy riders that have accumulated in the federal budget over the past half century. These harmful measures attack abortion rights, harm school kids, fuel political corruption, thwart efforts to combat the climate crisis, punish the District of Columbia, and more. It is an unfortunate reality that once a poison pill rider is included in an appropriations package, it becomes very difficult to remove from future packages.

People across the United States deserve a budget that invests in our future and fully funds the services people and communities count on without blocking or rolling back essential public safeguards.