YWCA USA Thanks Budget Champions, Calls on Congress to Address Unmet Needs

On Friday, March 23, 2024, Congress passed its final appropriations legislation to fund the remainder of FY2024. This package included funding for grants and programs overseen by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services. An earlier legislative package passed on March 8, 2024, included critical funding overseen by the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development. In response, YWCA USA CEO Margaret Mitchell issued the following statement: 

"YWCA is deeply grateful to our congressional champions, Senators Patty Murray, and Susan Collins and Representatives Kay Granger and Rosa DeLauro, for securing a $1 billion increase in child care and Head Start funding during this historically difficult budget process. In a bipartisan manner, they fought to ensure that our nation's most vulnerable women and children, as well as organizations like the YWCAs that serve them, were not forgotten. Likewise, we are grateful that funding for critical housing and gender-based violence programs pivotal to the work and mission of local YWCA associations was protected from harmful cuts. 

We also thank all the members of Congress who recognized the vital role YWCAs play in communities nationwide and supported over $12 million in Congressionally Directed Spending requests for them. Their support helps us meet the needs of their constituents by funding programs to address poverty, women's entrepreneurship, early preschool, and the mental health needs of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

While we applaud and appreciate these vital investments, we know more must be done to support women, girls, and communities of color. As Congress turns to Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations, we urge them to continue prioritizing investments in child care and early learning by passing the President's $16 billion supplemental request for urgently needed child care stabilization funding, and to ensure that programs and services that address gender-based violence, especially the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), are fully funded.”