Underwood-Backed Funding Package Creates Jobs, Fights Inflation, and Invests in Health Care, Public Safety, Climate; Includes $10 million for Projects in IL-14

WASHINGTON— Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) supported the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022. The legislation makes significant investments in priorities that will create jobs, fight inflation, and support families. The legislation invests in infrastructure, supports climate change mitigation, improves public safety, honors our veterans, strengthens public health, and extends much needed relief to Ukraine. The funding package will also benefit working families across Illinois' 14th District through funding for local projects secured by Underwood, a Member of the House Committee on Appropriations. These local projects will improve the quality of local drinking water, support foster youth and families, shorten wait-times for mental health services, expand access to Pre-K programs, and will create jobs and improve the health and well-being of communities across northern Illinois.

"Our community is strongest when we have the resources needed to grow our economy, raise families, and live fulfilling lives. From day one, I have fought to bring the voices of the 14th District to Congress and have worked hard to make sure our priorities are reflected in federal funding bills," said Underwood. "These investments will create jobs, lower costs for families while fighting inflation, protect our national security, address climate change, and strengthen public health."

On the passage of legislation to advance health care priorities:

"As a nurse and public health expert, strengthening our country's public health system has always been my priority. This legislation tackles our nursing shortage, addresses maternal mortality and severe morbidity, and combats the youth vaping epidemic."

On humanitarian and defensive resources for Ukraine:

"This package provides additional emergency humanitarian funding to support the Ukrainian people, including the refugees who have taken shelter in neighboring nations, our NATO allies, and defends global democracy in the wake of Russia's unjustified attack."

On funding to fight inflation:

"As we advance relief to confront rising prices from groceries to gas bills, I understand the worry and frustration this creates. This bill provides critical funds to help fight inflation and lower costs in northern Illinois and across the country."

The House appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2022 also includes the following priorities secured by Underwood:

Lowering Costs and Fighting Inflation

• Lowering costs for families: Reduces costs for families by expanding child care and early learning programs to more working families, investing in K-12 public schools, making college more affordable, and bringing the promise of rural broadband to more communities. Additional details are below.
• Combatting price gouging and protecting consumers: The package will help fight higher prices for working and middle-class families through increased funding for antitrust and consumer protection activities that combat corporate price gouging at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ):
  • $376.5 million for the FTC, an increase of $25.5 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to bolster antitrust enforcement, privacy, and consumer protection.
  • $382 million for the FCC, an increase of $8 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to expand broadband access and improve the security of U.S. telecommunications networks.
• Improving IRS services and enforcement: The package provides funding to rebuild the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to finally crack down on corporate tax evaders and the wealthy tax evaders and to provide better customer service to working families navigating the tax system. The bill includes the largest IRS funding increase since 2001: $675 million above the FY 2021 enacted level for a total of $12.6 billion.

Supporting the Rural Economy, Creating Jobs, and Educating a 21st Century Workforce

• Infrastructure: This package includes funding to fully implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating millions of good-paying American jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure with significant investments in airports, highways, transit, passenger rail, and port systems. Illinois is already set to receive $17 billion from this law, enacted in November 2021.
• Apprenticeships: This package provides $235 million for Registered Apprenticeships, an increase of $50 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to increase apprenticeships for workers and employers in high-demand industries.
• Higher education: This package includes $3 billion for higher education programs, an increase of $452 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, including:
  • $1.14 billion for Federal TRIO programs that help fund northern Illinois students.
  • $6,895 for the maximum Pell Grant award, an increase of $400. This is the largest increase in the maximum Pell award in more than a decade.
  • $59 million for the Teacher Quality Partnerships professional development and recruitment program, to address the teacher shortage across Illinois.
  • $65 million for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program to provide onsite child care at community colleges and universities, an increase of $10 million.
• K-12 education: This package provides record funding for K-12 schools and for students with disabilities, with $17.5 billion for Title I Grants and $14.5 billion for Special Education.
  • It also includes $111 million for school-based mental health grants, a nearly 700% increase over the FY 2021 enacted level, to increase the number of mental health and child development experts in schools. Rep. Underwood led a bipartisan effort to increase funding for this program, given the youth mental health crisis that has emerged in the wake of the pandemic
• Early childhood education and child care: This package increases funding for early childhood education programs by $558 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, including $6.2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and $11 billion for Head Start.
• Career and technical education: This package provides $2.1 billion for Career, Technical and Adult Education (CTE) that directly benefits school districts and community colleges in IL-14. This funding expands opportunities for local students to explore technical education programs to earn valuable credentials that prepare them for good-paying, in-demand jobs.
• Agricultural markets: This package provides $228 million, $39 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, to facilitate the movement of agriculture products and open market opportunities. This includes:
  • $20.4 million for the Local Agriculture Market Program to continue supporting local food and value-added agriculture.
  • $20.3 million for the National Organic Program to protect the integrity of the USDA Organic label.
  • $25.6 million for the oversight and enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act to ensure fair competition and trade practices for farmers, ranchers, and consumers.
  • $25 million to support dairy business innovation initiatives.
• Military pay raise: This package provides a 2.7% military pay raise and funds President Biden's executive order requiring a $15 minimum wage for Department of Defense personnel.

Health Care

• Mental health and suicide prevention: The package provides $6.5 billion, an increase of $530 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) programs to expand access to mental health care and substance use disorder treatments.
  • It increases funding for evidence-based suicide prevention programs, including the Suicide Lifeline and programs to prevent youth suicide.
• Opioid epidemic: The package includes $3.9 billion, an increase of $99.8 million above the FY 2021 level, for substance use disorder programs, include opioid prevention and treatment, recovery programs, and Medication Assisted Treatment.
• Youth vaping epidemic: The package includes language that Rep. Underwood secured clarifying the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) ability to regulate products containing synthetic nicotine as tobacco products – a necessary fix that will close legal loopholes that manufacturers of flavored e-cigarettes have used to perpetuate the nationwide youth vaping epidemic.
• Maternal health: The package includes historic funding levels for maternal health programs, including funding for maternal health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the IMPROVE Initiative, Perinatal Quality Collaboratives, Maternal Mortality Review Committees, and other Black Maternal Health Caucus priorities.
• Nursing workforce: The package addresses the nursing shortage by funding nurse training and loan forgiveness programs to grow the nursing workforce, including an increase of $20 million above the FY 2021 enacted for health workforce programs through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), like the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development program.
• Border health: The package includes $14.5 million for child welfare professionals and $13 million for electronic health records (EHR) to provide appropriate medical safeguards for individuals apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
• Ethylene Oxide (EtO): The package includes provisions to help protect communities in northern Illinois from harmful EtO emissions, including $80.5 million for the Agency for Toxic and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the agency that monitors EtO emissions. It also includes additional resources secured by Rep. Underwood to combat the potential health risks associated with prolonged exposure to EtO by directing ASTDR to incorporate monitoring data into relevant rulemakings to better inform communities concerned about EtO exposure.
• Access to health care: The package includes $1.7 billion for community health centers to expand access to quality, affordable health care.

Climate and Clean Energy

• Farmers Fighting Climate Change: Rep. Underwood secured a provision based on her Farmers Fighting Climate Change Act to support farmers on the frontlines of the climate crisis and promote agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration.
  • The package also includes $78.3 million across the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tackle the climate crisis in farming and rural communities.
• Health effects of climate change: Rep. Underwood secured $10 million for CDC's Climate and Health Program to help state and local governments prepare for the public health consequences of climate change.
• Combatting climate threats to national security: The package includes $120 million for military construction Climate Change and Resiliency projects, an increase of $106 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The package provides $9.56 billion for EPA to expand environmental enforcement and fight pollution, including:
  • $587 million for Geographic Programs which help with restoration of nationally significant bodies of water like the Great Lakes.
  • $2.96 billion for EPA's Environmental Programs and Management, including $290 million for Clean Air programs and $94 million for environmental justice implementation.
• Protecting public lands: The package provides for the allocation of $900 million now available from the Land and Water Conservation Fund thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act, which was enacted in 2020 with Rep. Underwood's support.
• Global climate crisis: The package expands global efforts to address environmental threats and reduce emissions by recommending over $1.5 billion to address the Climate Crisis and other environmental issues through State Department programs.
• Fermilab: The package includes $176 million to continue funding Fermilab's Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE) and $90 million for Proton Improvement Project-II (PIP-II), a $5 million and $11 million increase from FY21, respectively.

Public Safety and National Security

• Domestic violence and sexual assault prevention: The package reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act and includes $575 million for related prevention and prosecution programs, tackles sexual assault in the military, and funds efforts to reduce the backlog of unprocessed rape kits.
• Ukraine: The package includes $13.6 billion in emergency funding to support the Ukrainian people in the wake of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, include humanitarian aid, defense and economic assistance, and sanctions enforcement.
• Health operations at DHS: The package includes language secured by Rep. Underwood directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an Office of the Chief Medical Officer, paving the way to improve medical operations across the Department.
• Protecting schools, houses of worship, and other community organizations: The package includes $250 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps organizations, including places of worship, prepare for and counter threats from domestic violent extremists.
• Cybersecurity: $2.6 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, $568.7 million above the FY2021 enacted level. This funding is needed to address ransomware attacks like those experienced by the Crystal Lake School District. Rep. Underwood also secured language to encourage CISA to continue addressing election-related security, misinformation and disinformation that targets Black voters and other communities of color.
• Department of Justice grants: The package includes $3.9 billion for grants to support state and local law enforcement, an increase of $506.4 million above FY 2021. These grants can be used to improve the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crime, fund community programs that prevent crime, deter threats of violence against election officials, develop training to improve law enforcement and community interaction and promote collaboration between community members and law enforcement to reduce crime, and provide mental health resources to law enforcement officers.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: The bill provides $275 million for application processing to address backlogs and delays.

Veterans

• VA nursing workforce: The package includes Rep. Underwood's bipartisan VA Nurse and Physician Assistant RAISE Act (H.R. 5575) which increases the ceiling on nurse and physician assistant salaries at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address the health care workforce shortage. This will help the VA attract and retain top health care talent, ensuring veterans receive timely, high-quality care.
• Suicide prevention and mental health: The package includes language based on Rep. Underwood's Lethal Means Safety Training Act (H.R. 8084) to expand VA's evidence-based lethal means safety training to prevent veteran suicide. It provides $13.2 billion for mental health programs for veterans, including funding for suicide prevention programs like the Veterans Crisis Line.
• Contraceptive access: The package includes language based on Rep. Underwood's ACE Veterans Act (H.R. 4281) to help ensure veterans have access to yearlong supplies of contraception.
• Care for women veterans: The package includes language based on Rep. Underwood's Protecting Moms Who Served Act (H.R. 958) to improve the quality of maternal health care offered to veterans.
  • It also includes $840.4 million, an increase of $111 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for VA's women's health programs.
• Disability compensation: Fully funds the National Archives and Records Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration to enable VA to complete an estimated 1.7 million disability compensation claims in 2022 and support service-connected compensation payments to an estimated 5.5 million veterans, 500,000 survivors and dependents.

Post Office and Elections

• Election security: The package includes $75 million for Election Security Grants to augment state efforts to improve the security and integrity of Federal elections.
• Postal service: The package provides $53 million to support United States Postal Service functions, including six-day and rural mail delivery and operation of small and rural post offices.

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