Maloney Delivers for Hudson Valley Families, Farmers, and Veterans in 2020 Spending Bills

Statement

Today, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) helped pass two bipartisan spending bills for the 2020 fiscal year containing several priorities for Hudson Valley families, farmers, and veterans.

"You might not hear about it on the news every night, but we're getting good work done here in Washington. The bipartisan spending bills we passed today will help support New York families, farmers, and veterans by reinvesting in programs right here in Hudson Valley. We've mapped out a plan to fund community health centers, stand up for our veterans, and help our students gain access to a quality, affordable education. This is an example of what we can do when we put our differences aside and work together," said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.

In addition to funding the government for FY 2020, this package contains provisions to support priority projects like funding election security and transportation project grants, school safety programs, and gun violence research. The package also permanently repeals the so-called "Cadillac Tax" on high-service, employer-provided health insurance plans, the health insurance tax (HIT) and the medical-device tax.

Funding for the federal government runs out at midnight this Friday, December 20th. The appropriations bills now move to the Senate and are expected to be signed into law by Friday.

BACKGROUND:

The FY 2020 Appropriations packages include several priorities of Rep. Maloney. The bills give back to the Hudson Valley by:

Supporting Hudson Valley Farmers:

-Increases funding for farm, conservation, organics, and beginning farmer loan and credit programs
-Provides $3.3 billion in funding to support agricultural research, including the Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to help mitigate and stop devastating crop diseases, improve food safety and water quality, increase production, and combat microbial resistance
-Includes funding for the new Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO), which Rep. Maloney championed in the 2018 Farm Bill, designed to coordinate USDA training and outreach to beginning, veteran, and socially disadvantaged (SDA) farmers
-Contains funding for the new Local Agriculture Market Program, which Rep. Maloney fought for in the Farm Bill, to continue to support the small and mid-size farmers who bring their products to market and increase consumer education and access to local, healthy fruits and vegetables
-Supports child nutrition initiatives for low-income families and individuals, such as SNAP and WIC

Expanding Access to Education for Hudson Valley Students:

-Under this package, New York schools will have more access to education programs for lower-income schools like TRIO and GEAR UP
-This package will also increase funding for Special Education, providing over $13.9 billion to the federal program
-This package will expand access to higher education by providing over $24 billion for federal student aid programs, including funding for the Pell Grant program, which many Hudson Valley families utilize
-Requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to spend $12.5 million each on researching gun violence
-Includes an increase in funding for Special Olympics education programs. The President's budget eliminated the program; however, Rep. Maloney led a bipartisan letter requesting full funding

Defending the Hudson Valley Environment:

-Provides $485 million in Environmental Restoration Funds for the Air Force with $100 million dedicated to PFOS and PFOA remediation.
-Increases funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and Land and Water Conservation Fund
-Safeguards National Parks and public lands in New York

Repairing Hudson Valley Roads and Bridges:

-Provides over $3 billion in federal funds to New York for repairs to roads, bridges, rail, ports, airports and public transit
-Includes $50 million for grants to improve safety at highway grade-crossings
-Ensures New Yorkers have access to safe and clean water by providing $2.7 billion for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
-Provides $10 million in grant funding for the High Hazard Potential Dam Program to make repairs to hazardous dams. The program was created by Rep. Maloney's legislation in 2016
-Invests in Community Development Block Grants and other individual community/federal program partnerships that give resources to address unique community needs, like affordable housing for seniors, veterans, people living with disabilities, and low-income families

Funding Community Health Centers:

-Rep. Maloney has called for protecting and increasing funding for community health centers throughout Hudson Valley and New York state. These health centers serve rural, underinsured populations, and are often the only accessible health care facilities for many communities
-This package will extend funding for community health centers through May 20, 2020 at $2.57 billion

Combating the Opioid Epidemic:

-This bill allocates $3.8 billion for substance abuse treatment, an increase of $19 million, and $206 million for substance abuse prevention to combat the opioid epidemic
-This package will increase funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a dedicated agency within the Department of Health and Human Services created to reduce addiction and address mental health concerns

Support for Our Servicemembers and Veterans:

-Provides funds for 3.1 percent pay increase for members of the armed services.
-Funds mental health services for veterans, gender-specific care services for women
-Strengthens homelessness assistance programs, provides urgently-needed funds for military construction and military family housing
-Takes action to reduce the disability claims backlog for our veterans
-Addresses opioid abuse recovery and prevention for servicemembers and veterans
-Dedicates funds to suicide prevention outreach, rural VA clinics, and other VA programs

Securing America's Election Infrastructure:

-Improves election security by increasing funding and grants for state election systems infrastructure

Source