Congresswoman Gwen Moore Supports End of Year Legislation Benefitting Milwaukee Residents

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Moore voted to pass H.R. 133, the omnibus spending bill which includes provisions she fought to secure to benefit Wisconsin's Fourth. In response, she released the following statement:

"This funding package includes investments in our communities that are critical to supporting Americans through this pandemic. The programs that I worked hard to increase funding for will increase educational opportunity, support domestic violence survivors, fight housing and food insecurity, and prevent lead exposure, providing services and resources for the most vulnerable at a time when they are often needed most."

"In addition, I am very glad that my bill, HR 5816, the Continuing Care for Patients Act, is included in this legislation. I know how important to good health outcomes it is to have sustained access to high quality health care and providers you trust and have worked with. Patients who are undergoing a course of treatment will now have protections when their doctor or hospital is terminated from their health plan's network. Network changes like this can leave patients in the lurch, potentially facing unexpected costs or delays. Under my bill, patients must be notified on a timely basis if their doctor or hospital is terminated from their health plan's network. And patients will have the right to elect to continue to see the same provider for 90 days (or until the treatment is complete if it less than 90 days). Patients who elect continued transitional care maintains the same plan or coverage benefits through the transition period and are subject to the same terms and conditions. For patients whose care extends beyond 90 days, this bill will help reduce the financial, emotional, and physical toll that can arise from having to transition because they will now have time to find a new provider." This provision is included in the portion of the legislation that would protect consumers against surprise medical bills. By holding patients harmless, this fix ensures they are only responsible for their in-network cost-sharing amounts, including deductibles, in situations where patients do not have the ability to choose an in-network provider."

Elsewhere, the omnibus package includes a proposal supported by Congresswoman Moore to help foster youth and families through the pandemic, including children who may have aged out or left foster care during this public health emergency and a provision to allow families who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) flexibility in how those credits are determined, potentially putting more money in the pockets of working families.

"The needs of Milwaukee residents have heightened during this economic recession and pandemic, which is why I continue to work to meet this critical moment in our country."

Key Initiatives

Educational Opportunity

TRIO Programs: $1.09 billion, an increase of $7 million in funding
Pell Grants: $6,495 maximum Pell Grant, an increase of $150
Elsewhere in this package, provisions are included to increase access to Pell including repealing the ban on Pell eligibility among incarcerated students and restoring Pell Grant eligibility for students who were defrauded by their institutions.
Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies: $16.5 billion, an increase of $227 million
Head Start: $10.7 billion, an increase of $135 million
Child Care Development Block Grant: $5.9 billion, an increase of $85 million
Supporting Domestic Violence Survivors

Family Violence Prevention and Services and the Domestic Violence Hotline: $196 million, an increase of $8.5 million
Violence Against Women Act programs: $513.5 million, an increase of $11 million
Reducing Food Insecurity

School Breakfast Expansion Grants: $6 million
WIC: $6 billion
Securing Housing

Tenant-based rental assistance: $25.8 billion in funding
McKinney Vento Homelessness Assistance Grants: $3 billion, an increase of $223 million
Community Development Block Grants: $3.5 billion, an increase of $50 million
Housing for the Elderly: $855 million, an increase of $62 million including up to $52 million for the construction of new affordable senior housing
New eviction prevention services demonstration program to provide legal assistance for low-income tenants facing eviction: $20 million
Supporting Public Transportation

Transit infrastructure grants: $516 million
Capital Investment Grants: $2 billion
Lead Prevention

HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes: $360 million, an increase of $70 million
CDC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention: $39 million, an increase of $2 million

Environmental Protection

Combined Sewer Outflow grants: $40 million, an increase of $12 million in funding
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: $330 million, an increase of $10 million
EPA Environmental Justice activities: $12.5 million, a $2.3 million increase
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