Representative Malinowski Delivers for NJ-07 in FY 2021 Budget

Seal of the United States House of Representatives
December 22, 2020
Press Release

(Washington, DC) This week, Representative Malinowski voted to pass an expansive Fiscal Year 2021 House Appropriations bill that prioritizes public health and pandemic preparedness, invests in education and job training, combats the gun violence epidemic, fights back against white supremacist terrorism, protects our environment, and increases funding for our roads, bridges, and rail systems. The bill is the result of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations and is expected to be signed by the President this week.

“The budget passed this week reflects the priorities shared with me during hundreds of conversations with constituents and local leaders throughout this past year,” said Rep. Malinowski. “I will continue to fight in Congress to bring home essential federal resources to my district.”

The government funding bill includes provisions championed by Rep. Malinowski to:

  • Address the local water resource and flood mitigation needs of communities in the 7th district by directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the completion of the Rahway River Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study;
  • End “surprise billing” and includes Rep. Malinowski’s Know the Price Act, which prohibits gag clauses that are currently common in contracts between healthcare providers and insurers that are used to restrict a patient’s access to price and quality information;
  • Strengthen our country’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), through the inclusion of a key provision of Rep. Malinowski’s Providing Protective Equipment Act, which requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to send Congress a monthly public report on the precise level of supplies held in the SNS so Congress can ensure that there are adequate amounts to respond to any future pandemic; and
  • Secure over $35 million for Department of Homeland Security Programs to prevent domestic terrorism, including the Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) and TVTP grants. Representative Malinowski led the effort to restore funding the Trump administration cut for this program in 2019, and championed additional funds this year, securing an increase of $21 million above FY20.

Other highlights from the spending package include:

  • $621.567 million for the USDA Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program to provide grants and loans to construct water and wastewater infrastructure in communities with small water systems. Frenchtown and Phillipsburg have been recipients of these grants in the past; 
  • $720 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program to ensure that volunteer fire fighters are adequately equipped and protected when they serve the community. More than 80 percent of New Jersey’s roughly 37,000 firefighters are volunteers, according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. In the past these grants have helped towns including Dover, Summit, Clinton, Raritan Township and Sergeantsville;
  • $1 billion for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program that provides federal funds for municipalities to finance local roads, bridges, rail, and transit projects;
  • $2 billion for Capital Investment Grants, which provides funds for vital projects like the Portal North Bridge project;
  • $25 million split evenly for federal research at the CDC and NIH into our nation’s gun violence epidemic;
  • $90 billion for VA medical care, including homelessness assistance, suicide prevention and outreach, and gender-specific care;
  • $10.7 billion for Head Start programs, an increase of $135 million;
  • $24.5 billion for federal student aid, including Pell Grants and Federal Work Study;
  • $9.24 billion, a $180 million increase, for the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure clean air and water and to hold polluters accountable;
  • $730 million to expand broadband service in rural communities to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services.

For a section by section breakdown of the FY 2021 Appropriations package click here.

 

Issues: 
Economy