Rep. Judy Chu (File Photo – Office of Judy Chu)
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 341–88 on Tuesday to pass H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, a minibus spending package that provides full Fiscal Year 2026 funding for three appropriations bills covering Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Defense; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
By News Desk
Rep. Judy Chu (D–CA-28) praised the legislation for protecting key public services while criticizing aspects of the defense budget. In a statement following the vote, Chu said the bill “makes important progress toward protecting the programs our communities rely on and rejecting the Trump administration’s plan to cut funding for public services by tens of billions of dollars.”
While noting she would have preferred stronger overall investments, Chu said the measure helps ease cost-of-living pressures by funding affordable child care and housing, public health initiatives, and transportation infrastructure. She also said Democrats removed “dozens of extreme Republican policy riders” that would have limited access to reproductive health care, weakened worker protections, and cut infrastructure projects in Democratic-led states.
Chu expressed disappointment with increased funding for what she described as an already “bloated” Department of Defense budget and said the bill includes no meaningful guardrails on the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela or its threats of force toward Iran and Greenland. Despite those concerns, she said the legislation restores Congress’s role in directing federal spending and preserves core government functions.
As part of the bill, Chu secured $7.05 million in Community Project Funding for nine projects across California’s 28th Congressional District. The funded projects include:
- $2 million for a joint fire training center between the City of Arcadia and the U.S. Forest Service to support live-fire and emergency response training
- $500,000 for facility improvements and ADA upgrades at the Altadena Community Center
- $1 million for ADA and facility upgrades at the Jackie Robinson Community Center in Pasadena
- $850,000 for resurfacing and ADA improvements along Lower Azusa Road in Temple City
- $850,000 to support Foothill Transit’s zero-emissions bus program
- $850,000 for public infrastructure improvements in Claremont’s South Village
- $500,000 to renovate the Garvey Avenue Community Center in Rosemead
- $250,000 for the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust Project Pipeline to support affordable housing development
- $250,000 for the reconstruction of Monterey Park Fire Station 63, previously damaged by an earthquake
“These investments will advance public safety, modernize infrastructure and community services, and improve transportation throughout our region,” Chu said, adding that the funding will be especially critical as communities continue to recover from the Eaton Fire.
Beyond district-level funding, the legislation includes provisions to reassert Congress’s power of the purse through staffing thresholds, notification requirements, and detailed funding tables. It increases funding for the National Institutes of Health by $400 million, boosts Child Care and Head Start funding by $170 million, and provides $66.6 billion for rental assistance programs. The bill also increases Federal Aviation Administration funding by $1.6 billion, including resources to hire 2,500 additional air traffic controllers, and fully funds a 3.8 percent pay raise for military personnel.
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