226 Groups to Congress: Reject Poison Pill Riders in FY27 Appropriations

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Dear Members of Congress,

The Clean Budget Coalition (CBC) and allied organizations urge you to pass FY27 appropriations bills free of harmful policy riders that threaten the health, safety, and well-being of the American people and our democracy. The CBC and its allied organizations represent the diverse core of the American people, including labor, scientific, consumer, research, good government, faith, civil rights, community, health, environmental, business, and public interest groups. The people we represent are counting on Congress to reject ideological riders that would undermine public health, weaken worker protections, or allow special interests to gain ground at their expense.

As you work on the FY27 appropriations bills, we urge you to prioritize strong funding levels and reject poison-pill policy riders. Poison pill riders are typically advanced by special interests, would never have passed as standalone legislation, and undermine the health, safety, and economic security of the American people. Once enacted, these provisions are extraordinarily difficult to remove and can distort federal policy for years.

The American people oppose the abuse of the budget process to roll back public protections or create loopholes that hinder accountability. The federal budget should fund priorities that Americans truly care about, not hack away at essential safeguards. The American people support policies to:

  • Ensure safe and healthy food and products;
  • Restrain Wall Street abuses;
  • Protect our air, land, water, oceans, and wildlife;
  • Safeguard fair and safe workplaces;
  • Guard against consumer rip-offs and corporate wrongdoing;
  • Defend our campaign finance, election, and census systems, and support D.C. statehood;
  • Provide access to justice and fair housing, particularly for African Americans, people of color, and people experiencing disabilities.
  • Protect human and civil rights, including students’ protections and services in schools, and immigrant rights; and
  • Guarantee continued access to vital health care services, including comprehensive reproductive health care, among other things.

Finally, the inclusion of poison-pill policy riders, paired with draconian cuts, illegal impoundments, and rescissions, has blocked the timely allocation of resources. These provisions can derail bipartisan negotiations and force Congress to spend valuable time resolving disputes that have nothing to do with funding the government.

People across the United States deserve an FY27 budget that not only addresses present needs but also invests in a better future. For this reason, we urge Congress to fully fund important public services and to reject any flawed bills that incorporate new poison pills or fail to remove the legacy riders that would undo essential public safeguards.

Sincerely,

20/20 Vision
ACLU
Act Now: End AIDS
Advocates for Youth
AFL-CIO
Affordable Homeownership Foundation Inc.
African American Ministers in Action
AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services
AIDS Alabama
AIDS Foundation Chicago
The AIDS Institute
AIDS United
Alaska Wilderness League Action
All* Above All
American Academy of HIV Medicine
American Association for Justice
American Association of University Women
American Bird Conservancy
American Economic Liberties Project
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers
American Friends Service Organization
American Rivers
American Sustainable Business Council
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Financial Reform
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Animal Wellness Action
Appliance Standards Awareness Project
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
CAER Coalition
Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment
Caring Across Generations
CASEL
Catholics for Choice
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Responsible Lending
Center for Science in the Public Interest
CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers
Change the Chamber
Chicago Political Economy Group
Children’s Defense Fund
Church World Service
Clean Air Council
Clean Water Action
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Reality Chicago
Chapel Hill Organization for Clean Energy
Coalition on Human Needs
Coalition for Health Funding
Common Cause
Community Change Action
Compassion & Choices
Communications Workers of America
Community Catalyst
Consumer Action
Consumer Federation of America
DCVote
Defenders of Wildlife
Democracy 21
Drug Policy Alliance
Earthjustice Action
Economic Policy Institute
Endangered Species Coalition
Environmental Defense Fund
End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund
Elevate
Environmental Working Group
Essential Information
Equality Federation
Faith in Harm Reduction
Fast-Track Cities Institute
Family Values @ Work
Feeding New York State
Five Horizons Health Services
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
Food & Water Watch
Full Plates Full Potential
Funders Concerned About AIDS
Futures Without Violence
The Gault Center
Georgia Equality
GLSEN
GRACE/End Child Poverty CA
GreenLatinos
Greenpeace USA
Guttmacher Institute
Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction
Harrington Investments, Inc.
HealthHIV
Hep Free Hawaii
Hispanic Federation
HIV/AIDS Alliance of Michigan
HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute
HIV Dental Alliance
HIV Medicine Association
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Housing Works
The Hub Project
Human Rights Campaign
Hunger Solutions Consulting
Hunger Solutions New York
Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force
Illinois Environmental Council
Illinois Harm Reduction and Recovery Coalition
The Immigration Hub
Indivisible
Innovative Green Builders
Impact Fund
Innocence Project
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
International Fund for Animal Welfare
James Beard Foundation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Women International
John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute
Kids for Saving Earth
Latino Community Development
Latino Farmers & Ranchers International, Inc.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
League of Conservation Voters
Los Padres ForestWatch
Main Street Alliance
Majority Action
Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
Media Voices for Children
MomsRising
NAACP South Carolina State Conference
NASTAD
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)
National Association of Consumer Advocates
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
The National Center for Health Research
The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Community Action Partnership
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
National Council of Jewish Women
National Disability Institute
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Domestic Violence Hotline
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Healthcare for the Homeless Council
The National Health Law Program
National Juvenile Justice Network
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
National WIC Association
National Women’s Health Network
National Women’s Law Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Jersey Association on Correction
New Progressive Alliance
Nourish California
Oceana
Ocean Conservancy
Oxfam America
P Street
PAI
Partnership for Policy Integrity
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
People’s Action
Population Connection
Poverty Project, Institute for Policy Studies
Positive Women’s Network-USA
Protect All Children’s Environment
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Citizen
Public Justice Center
Public Knowledge
Rachel Carson Council
Reproductive Freedom for All
RootsAction
Rural Coalition
Safe Climate Campaign
Save HIV Funding Campaign
Safer Foundation
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
SEIU
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
Sierra Club
Public Advocacy for Kids
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
Springfield Food Policy Council
The Southern Poverty Law Center
Start Early
Union of Concerned Scientists
Take on Wall Street
The United State of Women
Treatment Action Group
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hidalgo County, Texas
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Church of Christ
Unrig Our Economy
URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity
U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus
U.S. PIRG
Vivent Health
Voices for Progress
Western Watersheds Project
West Virginia HIV Academic Mentoring Partnership
Wildlife Conservation Society
Womxn From the Mountain
The Wilderness Society
Woodstock Institute
Youth First Justice Collaborative