The Peru Gazette

 

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik released the below statement following the House passage of FY2020 Appropriations to keep the government open:

“The House secured a crucial bipartisan result today: authorizing spending through September 2020 and keeping the government open and working for the American people,” said Congresswoman Stefanik.“Importantly, this Appropriations bill included many critical wins for my district and our entire country, including a pay raise for our military, millions in resources to maintain and improve Fort Drum’s military readiness, support for veterans, expanded health care access for North Country seniors, support for rural communities, and protection for our region’s environmental priorities and needs. I am proud to have helped secure these results for the North Country, and applaud the House for coming together to get this done.”

Key Defense Wins

• Provides a total of $738 billion to the warfighter to carry out the mission to protect national security interests and defend the homeland.
• Provides a 3.1% pay raise, the largest in a decade; and addresses child care and other critical issues to the military and their families.
• Provides $34 billion for Defense Health programs for service members to research traumatic brain injury, suicide, and cancer affecting our men and women in uniform.
• Provides $1.3 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment modernization.

Wins for Fort Drum and the Community

• Secures $21 million for Fort Drum’s Railhead.
• Provides an additional $23 million for Fort Drum’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hangar.
• Provides $232 million for Energy Resiliency and Conversation Investment Program—which will continue to support Fort Drum’s energy resiliency.
• Increases funding for DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programs for a total of $297 million, which will enhance prevention and response training, and improve resources for victims.
• Appropriates a $50 million increase for Impact Aid ($40 million increase for Impact Aid and $10 million for Impact Aid for Children with Disabilities)—which will provide financial support for the children of servicemembers at Fort Drum.
• Supports and funds research, clean-up, and regulatory work addressing PFOS/PFOA water contamination.
• Fully funds naval reactors such as Kesselring at $1.6 billion.
• Increases the Procurement Technical Assistance Program by $19.5 million to assist small businesses.

Supporting our Veterans

• Increases funds for Atomic Veterans Service Medal.
• Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress on the Vietnam-Era Veterans Hepatitis C Testing Pilot Program.
• Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to submit a report to Congress to ensure that the Veteran Crisis Line provides an immediate response.

Promoting Economic Development and Rural Communities     

• Provides $642 million for rural broadband, including $555 million for a broadband pilot called ReConnect designed to provide certain flexibilities to remote and underserved areas.
• Allocates $25 million for the Northern Border Regional Commission, which provides infrastructure and economic development grant opportunities to all counties in the 21^st district.
• Provides $5.5 billion for electric improvements for our rural communities through the Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program.
• Issues $660 million for updates and new infrastructure in water and waste disposal systems for local municipalities through the USDA Water and Sewer Loan Grant program.

• Gives a seven-year extension of the Export-Import Bank, which enhances U.S. competitiveness and directly supports workers and job creators in the North Country.

• Ensures $146 million for the Manufacturing Extension Program to equip small manufacturers with the resources they need to support counties across the 21^st district.

Protecting Environmental Priorities

• Gives $320 million to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which addresses vital environmental issues across the Great Lakes region, such as improving water quality, protecting native habitats, and combating invasive species.
• Provides $13.4 million for the Lake Champlain Basin Program, which coordinates and funds efforts to support Lake Champlain and the surrounding watershed.
• Provides $21.6 million to support acid rain monitoring and research through the EPA’s Clean Air Allowance Trading Programs.
• Allocates $495 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a significant increase in funding.

• Allocates $75.3 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a new lock at Soo Locks, which will help navigation throughout the Great Lakes system and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Expanding Access to Healthcare and Supporting North Country Seniors

• Allocates $1.6 billion in discretionary funding for the Health Centers program which supports Community Health Centers.
• Includes the Creates Act, a bipartisan provision included in H.R. 19, the Lower Costs More Cures Act that the Congresswoman helped introduce to lower drug prices. The Creates Act will help lower drug prices by promoting competition for drugs by facilitating the timely entry of lower-cost generic versions of those drugs to the market.
• Provides $41.6 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting medical innovation and disease research.
• Permanently repeals the Medical Device Tax, Cadillac Tax, and Health Insurance Tax.
• Gives $936 million for Congregate and Home Delivered Nutrition Services for seniors, key programs under the Older Americans Act.

• Ensures $305 million to support energy assistance to low-income families and seniors though the Weatherization Assistance Program.

Keeping our Communities Safe 

• Provides funding to hire 1,200 additional Customs and Border Protection officers and 100 new border protection processing coordinators.
• Advances treatment and recovery initiatives and improves prevention and enforcement by investing $518 million in grant programs that support drug courts, prescription drug monitoring, overdose-reversal drugs, and at-risk youth programs.
• Protects our communities from heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamines by increasing federal law enforcement resources to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers.
• Provides $502.5 million for grants, contracts, and other assistance for the prevention and prosecution of violence against women.
• Allocates $355 for the FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.
• Provides $38 million for regional information sharing systems to support data collection and information sharing at local police departments.