Rep. Chu Statement on Omnibus Funding Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – The House of Representatives voted last night to pass HR. 2741, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which funds the Federal government through fiscal year 2022. In addition to providing $1.5 trillion to keep the government running, this bill also includes a number of programs that Rep. Judy Chu specifically supported that will bring money directly back to California's 27^th Congressional district to protect the San Gabriel Basin, encourage sustainability, expand broadband access, build affordable housing, improve access to the San Gabriel Mountains, improve access to healthcare, provide mental health services for communities of color, and establish a new collaborative partnership with East Los Angeles College. Rep. Chu issued the following statement:

"I'm proud to have cast my vote to not only ensure that the government will keep the lights on, but also ensure that necessary and urgent priorities are being met. That includes the war in Ukraine. Putin's war of choice has caused untold death and pain, with 1.5 million innocent refugees forced to flee their homes. That is why I am so glad that this bill provides aid to help meet the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people, both in Ukraine and in the countries that have opened their doors to them. And it also provides $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine to help them protect themselves from Russia's aggression.

"Additionally, this bill includes a number of provisions to address urgent needs at home. I'm particularly pleased that, after it was allowed to expire in 2013, the Violence Against Women Act – our nation's top resource to help victims of domestic violence – has been reauthorized as part of this package, even though some critical reforms, like closing the ‘boyfriend loophole,' were left out. This bill also responds to the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes by fully funding the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, which I was proud to introduce along with Rep. Don Beyer. This funding will go towards helping law enforcement better respond to and track hate crimes, and make more victims comfortable with reporting.

"I'm especially proud that nine Community Project Funding (CPF) requests from our district that I supported were included in this bill. That includes $10,000,000 for the San Gabriel Basin Restoration Fund, $680,000 for an Alhambra Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, $1,500,000 for Pasadena Broadband Network Expansion, $125,000 for Angeles National Forest Recreation Multi-Cultural Visitor Reception and Recreation Area & Trail Signage, $995,000 for the LA-San Gabriel Mountains Urban Shuttle System, $3,000,000 for San Gabriel Valley Affordable Housing Project Pipeline, $1,000,000 for Parents Anonymous, Claremont, CA for mental health services for Asian, Latinx and Black/African American families, $150,000 for Via Care Community Health Center, in Los Angeles, CA for facilities and equipment, and $200,000 for East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA to establish a collaborative partnership promoting college access and success. These programs will help our area to grow while creating more opportunities.

"However, while I believe this bill includes necessary funding that I was proud to support, I was disappointed with a number of provisions. For instance, even as abortion access faces unprecedented attacks, this bill fails to increase much needed funding for reproductive rights, including the Title X Family Planning Program, and even maintains the dangerous Hyde Amendment which keeps the poorest women from being able to access safe abortion care. Additionally, this bill includes increases to both ICE and CBP funding despite the fact that both the House and the Senate bills decreased this funding to reflect accurate population numbers. And as our nation continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, I was disappointed that Republicans prevented an agreement that will help us meet this challenge while supporting the American people. Finally, while I am proud of the increases in spending in much of our social safety net, I remain deeply concerned about the continued increase in spending for the Department of Defense, which in this package exceeds even the President's budget request."

Other highlights in the omnibus include:

• $45 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $1 billion to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
• A record $8.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• $2 billion for mental health, $3.9 billion for substance use treatment, and an increase of $50 million for health disparities research.
• $5.48 billion for Wildland Fire Management
• $3.7 billion for the U.S. Forest Service non-fire accounts, which include funding for the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest.
• $1.39 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, which funds the West Coast Early Earthquake Warning System developed by Caltech
• $12.6 billion for the IRS including the largest yearly increase since 2001
• $1 billion for the Small Business Administration
• $24 billion, an increase of $770 million, for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with strong funding within this total for efforts to gain scientific knowledge about the Earth's changing climate
• $97 million to combat sexual assault in the military