Huffman Lauds IDEA Funding in Second Round of Appropriations, Secures Additional Priorities

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4502, the second round of fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, which included significant victories for California’s Second Congressional District backed by Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). The package also includes a $2.6 billion increase in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), championed by the congressman. Huffman has spent his congressional career advocating for the needs of individuals with disabilities, highlighting the need for adequate special education funding.

“The appropriations process is Congress’ opportunity to put our money where our mouth is and invest in what we value as a nation. The funding in this package reflects the priorities of Democrats: supporting hard-working families, bolstering our economy, and protecting our planet for future generations,” said Rep. Huffman. “I am glad to vote for today’s funding bill, which includes many of our fundamental priorities like supporting special education needs for children as we recover from the pandemic, building back our communities with transformative transportation and infrastructure projects, and protecting treasured lands and habitat from oil exploration.”

Rep. Huffman successfully led the charge to allocate funding for multiple priorities for northwest California and environmental protections that were included in the legislation:

• Allocates $8.9 million in Community Project Funding:
• $400,000 for the Anderson Valley Affordable Housing Initiative, Mendocino County
• $1,000,000 for the Burre Dental Center Expansion, Humboldt County
• $100,000 for Ceres Disaster Preparedness for Medically Tailored Meals, Sonoma County
• $700,000 for the E. Sir Francis Drake Blvd Gap Closure, Marin County
• $5,000,000 for the Hammond Trail Bridge Replacement Project, Humboldt County
• $1,600,000 for Petaluma Health Center Energy Upgrades for Emergency Response, Sonoma County
• $218,000 for Project Rebound — Humboldt County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, Humboldt County
• Includes $300 million to electrify the federal fleet and the aging USPS fleet, which Rep. Huffman has advocated for since 2014, including through his latest legislation, the Postal Vehicle Modernization Act of 2021.
• Reauthorizes the Shasta-Trinity marina fee retention authority, following legislation Rep. Huffman introduced this June. This critical request supports the outdoor recreation economy in Trinity County. Rep. Huffman has also secured this provision in prior appropriations bills.
• Blocks funding to conduct or authorize any offshore oil and gas preleasing, leasing, or exploration for areas that weren’t included in the Obama administration’s final leasing plan for 2017 to 2022, an effort led by Rep. Huffman and that he has championed in legislation and prior appropriations bills.
• Includes report language highlighting the growth in cage-free egg facilities and the importance of the Department in Agriculture in helping producers convert to cage-free housing. While serving in the California State Legislature, Rep. Huffman was the author of California’s humane egg law that helped lead the nation in cage-free standards.
• Funds the San Francisco Bay estuary program at $30 million to ensure habitat restoration, endangered species recovery, and adaptation to climate change.
• Includes report language directing the Department of Energy to provide $5 million for a competitive solicitation for a study of the development of a direct air capture facility co-located with a geothermal energy resource.

Below are a number of other notable wins for American communities in H.R. 4502:

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education:

• The bill eliminates the Hyde and Weldon amendments, long-standing discriminatory policy which denied low-income women their legal right to an abortion. The bill includes language consistent with the Administration’s proposed new Title X rule, which will help restore grant funding to Planned Parenthood and other health clinics that offer the full range of reproductive health services.
• The bill includes historic increases in funding for Democratic priorities, including education, health care, and worker protections. For example, it includes a historic $36 billion for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, an increase of $19.5 billion, meeting President Biden’s commitment to more than double funding for Title I. It also includes $49 billion for NIH biomedical research, an increase of $6.5 billion or 15 percent; $10.6 billion for the CDC to bolster the nation’s public health infrastructure; and $2.1 billion for worker protection agencies.
• Includes new language allowing DREAMers and students with temporary protected status to be eligible for Pell Grants and Federal student loans.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration:

• The bill provides $26.55 billion in discretionary funding for FY 2022 — an increase of $2.851 billion — or more than 10 percent — above the FY 2021 enacted level for the Department of Agriculture and related agencies. In total, the bill includes $196.7 billion for both discretionary programs funded on an annual basis and mandatory programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Invests $900 million in Rural Broadband expansion.
• Over one billion dollars in loans to help rural areas access utilities like water and waste management.
• Increases funding for child nutrition programs, including $45 million for the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer Program which helps students who receive free and reduced lunch afford food during Summer break, and $10 million for school breakfast expansion grants.
• Provides $1.06 billion to help farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners conserve and protect their land.
• Includes $170 million for infrastructure for watershed and flood prevention and watershed rehabilitation projects, $9.5 million for the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Program, and $10 million for the Healthy Forests Reserve Program.

Energy and Water Development:

• The bill provides $53.22 billion in discretionary spending — an increase of $1.47 billion above the FY 2021 levels, for agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of Energy.
• Provides more than $14 billion of transformative investments in clean energy and science, including $3.77 billion for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (including $375 million to support weatherization of low-income households); $600 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy (ARPA-E) to support new energy technologies; $200 million to establish an Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations at the Department of Energy; and $7.32 billion for basic science research in physics, biology, and chemistry toward energy innovation.
• Directs the Department of Energy to increase efforts to advance equity and environmental justice across all programs and activities.

Financial Services and General Government:

• The bill provides $29.1 billion to assist taxpayers, support small businesses, empower the District of Columbia, increase consumer protection, and protect and strengthen our elections. This is $4.8 billion above the current FY 2021 enacted level.
• Provides $300 million to electrify the entire federal fleet and the aging US Postal Service fleet, the report language accompanying the bill says that the Committee is disappointed by the lack of EV commitment in the USPS Next generation delivery vehicle contact award, and directs the USPS to prioritize robust procurement of a Battery-Electric Vehicle fleet under the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle in order to comply with President Biden’s climate executive order.

Interior and Environment:

• The bill provides $43.4 billion in regular appropriations for critical environmental agencies like the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, an increase of $7.3 billion — or 20.2 percent — above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• Extends payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) to local governments through fiscal 2022.
• Provides $101.3 million to create a Civilian Climate Corps.
• Supports Indian Country health care programs, providing $8.1 billion for the Indian Health Service, which includes $5.8 billion for health services and $1.3 billion for health facilities.
• Includes $3.21 billion for wildfire management and suppression activities conducted by the Interior Department and Forest Service, which is an increase of $287.8 million.

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs:

• This bill provides $113.1 billion in discretionary funding for VA programs — $8.7 billion more than the current enacted level the previous year. Increases funding for veteran medical care, including increases for mental health, gender-specific care, and homeless assistance programs.
• Includes implementation funding for the VA’s transition to electronic medical records.
• Includes funding for the swift processing and approval of VA medical and disability claims.

Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development:

• Provides a total of $56.5 billion for Housing and Urban Development — an increase of $6.8 billion above fiscal year 2021, and a total of $105.7 billion for the Department of Transportation — an increase of $19 billion above the FY 2021 enacted.
• Expands housing choice vouchers to 125,000 low-income families at risk of homelessness.
• Increases funding for tenant-based rental assistance which serves the lowest income households in the nation.
• Increases funding for public housing improvement.
• Includes $352 million for Housing for Persons with Disabilities to construct approximately 1,800 new affordable housing units for persons with disabilities.
• Includes $580 million for Transit Infrastructure Grants to purchase more than 300 zero emission buses, 400 diesel buses, and to support the transformative research for transit systems.

H.R. 4502 consists of seven FY 2022 funding bills: Labor-HHS-Education; Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA; Energy and Water Development; Financial Services and General Government; Interior-Environment; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Transportation-HUD.

Last night, the House passed it’s first round of funding, H.R. 4373 — Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 and H.R. 4346 — Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2022.

Below are a number of notable wins for American communities secured in these funding bills, including priorities led by Rep. Huffman:

Department of State, Foreign Operations:

• Prioritizes displaced and vulnerable populations, public health infrastructure, combatting climate change, and advancing women’s rights. In order to advance these vital priorities, this portion of the bill provides $62.24 billion, a 12% increase from last year.
• Includes over $3 billion to address the climate crisis and other environmental programs, including $1.6 billion for the Green Climate Fund to assist millions of people at risk due to climate change and rapidly accelerate a transition to net-zero emissions in at least 20 partner countries.
• Provides over $8.5 billion in collective funding for the USAID International disaster assistance, migration and refugee assistance, and the US Emergency Refugee & Migration Assistance Fund.
• Provides $830 Million for the UN Population Fund and global family planning efforts.

Legislative Branch:

• Provides for protection of our democracy with funding to secure the U.S. Capitol, bolsters wellness support for Capitol Police who are still suffering from the January 6 domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol complex; and increases funding for paid internships to support more hard-working interns from middle class families and allows Dreamers to work in the Legislative Branch.