Omnibus package for Fiscal Year 2022 includes billions in federal funding for public safety, clean energy, clean drinking water, infrastructure, Ukraine aid, and more.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today voted in favor of H.R. 2471, a massive spending package that includes billions in federal support for programs and services vital to North Jersey.
“Our unified Democratic government is today moving forward with a generational investment in America’s future,” said Rep. Pascrell. “With this spending package, we have allocated billions of dollars for public safety, environmental programs, and more. We have also voted to provide over $13 billion in aid to support the Ukrainian people on the frontlines of defending democracy against the criminal Russian invasion. Here in North Jersey, we’ve secured over $11 million for community projects that will benefit generations of New Jerseyans to come. I’m damn proud to have included so many New Jersey priorities in this bill. And I’m even prouder to have helped pass it today. I now urge the Senate to act on this package swiftly so we can get this priority bill onto President Biden’s desk.”
Rep. Pascrell championed several provisions of today’s package, a summary of which is provided below.
Key Provisions
•$250 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which helps protect places of worship and religious nonprofits from threats. Rep. Pascrell leads the fight to increase this funding each year.
•$13.6 billion in emergency funding to support the Ukrainian people and defend global democracy in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, including $1.4 billion for Migration and Refugee Assistance to support refugees fleeing Ukraine.
•$11.4 million for community projects throughout North Jersey:
•West Grantwood Park Rehabilitation: $250,000
•Borough of Fort Lee’s Streetscape Project: $250,000
•Borough of Leonia’s Strengthening Public Safety Communications Project: $250,000
•Wrigley Park Rehabilitation: $360,000
•Garfield Wellness Center: $1,500,000
•Equipment for the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine: $775,000
•Northern New Jersey Post-Pandemic Employment and Skills Training Initiative: $1,936,006
•St. Joseph’s Health Mental Health Designated Screening Center Expansion and Renovation project: $2,000,000
•Saddle Brook Sewage Rehabilitation and Improvements Project: $1,393,682
•Hudson Raritan Estuary (HRE) - Hackensack Meadowlands, NJ Ecosystem Restoration Project: $1,200,000
•Borough of Prospect Park, Main Sewer Line Repair Project: $223,000
•4Cs of Passaic County, New Jersey to improve access early education: $250,000
•Greenway Project in City of Passaic, NJ: $883,000
•Juvenile Justice Mentorship Program Expansion in Secaucus, NJ: $340,000
•National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) and Rebuild By Design (RBD) funding: The bill includes language extending the ability to spend $15 million for the NDRC, $230 million for a project across Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City, and $150 million for a project in the Meadowlands for RBD programs slated to expire in 2023. The extension allows funds to remain accessible until 2025. These have been top priorities Rep. Pascrell has long fought for in the House.
•$27.5 million for the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and $20 million for increased efforts at the Office of Trade. Rep. Pascrell led a letter in April 2021 asking for a $50 million increase in funds to combat forced labor.
•$360 million for Assistance to Firefighter (AFG) grants and $360 million for Staffing for Adequate Emergency Response (SAFER) grants. Additionally, the bill includes language requested by Rep. Pascrell permitting waivers related to cost sharing, period of performance, and usage of funding to retain firefighters for AFG and SAFER grants. Last year Rep. Pascrell convened union leaders, firefighters, and elected officials to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the AFG program, which was created by Rep. Pascrell’s Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act in 2000. Rep. Pascrell also co-led legislation in 2003 to establish the SAFER program, which assists local fire departments in hiring and retaining firefighters. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, Rep. Pascrell annually co-leads a letter with his fellow Co-Chairs requesting increased funding for the AFG and SAFER programs.
•$3 million for the Firefighter Cancer Registry, which is the product of legislation authored and long championed by Rep. Pascrell signed into law in 2018. Rep. Pascrell led his colleagues in a letter last year requesting the fully authorized level of funding for the Firefighter Cancer Registry.
•$489.7 million for Byrne Justice Assistance grants (Byrne JAG) and $246 million for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring grants. Byrne JAG received an additional •$184.7 million for member-directed community projects and COPS received an additional $111.7 million for member-directed community projects. Taken together, our two major federal policing grant programs will see an increase of over $315 million in funding from last year. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, Rep. Pascrell led his colleagues in a letter last year requesting increased funding for Byrne JAG and COPS Hiring grants.
•$30 million for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP) grant program, which was permanently authorized by legislation authored by Rep. Pascrell signed into law in 2019. Rep. Pascrell led his colleagues in a letter last year requesting the fully authorized level of funding for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership.
•Teterboro Airport: Language to prohibit funds from being used to change weight restrictions or prior permission rules at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport.
•$6 million for Rep. Pascrell’s Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department (ALTO) program.
•$8.75 million for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including a $2 million set-aside for concussion surveillance, $15.3 million for the Administration on Community Living TBI State Grant Program, and $170 million for peer-reviewed traumatic brain injury and psychological health research within the Defense Health Program.
•$2.5 billion for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, an increase of $71 million from FY 2021.
•$12.6 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, an increase of $675 million above the FY 2021 enacted level. This is the largest increase since 2001. Today’s bill also provides special funding transfer authority and direct hire authority to address the backlog of returns and correspondence. Of this amount, the bill includes:
•$2.8 billion, an increase of $225 million above the FY 2021 enacted level for Taxpayer Services.
•$5.4 billion, an increase of $225 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for Enforcement.
•$4.1 billion, an increase of $173 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for Operations Support.
•$275 million, an increase of $52 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for Business Systems Modernization.
Original source can be found here.
