McCollum Statement on House Passage of Six-Bill Appropriations Package

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) released the following statement today after voting for the six-bill FY 23 Appropriations package, H.R. 8294, which passed the House:

"As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I was proud to vote today for a package of six bills that help our planet, families, small businesses, and workers achieve a brighter future," McCollum said. "As Vice Chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I've worked hard to ensure that the FY 23 bill is investing federal funds in priorities like combating the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, protecting clean air and water, conserving our public lands, meeting critical needs for Indian Country, supporting the arts and humanities, and much more. This package also advances my funding requests for nine community projects in the Fourth District that will enrich people's lives, improve water quality, and boost workforce development in the East Metro."

Background:

H.R. 8294 contains six of the 12 annual federal spending bills: Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

As Vice Chair of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee, Congresswoman McCollum has worked hard to secure funding for many priorities for the nation and for Minnesota. In total, the bill includes $44.8 billion in regular appropriations, an increase of $6.8 billion – 18 percent – above the FY 2022 enacted level. There is also an additional $2.55 billion of funding provided under the fire suppression cap adjustment. A summary of the bill is here. The text of the bill is here. The bill report is here.

The legislation:

• Honors the federal government's responsibilities to Native American families by investing in tribal communities including through education and health care programs
• Creates good-paying American jobs and strengthens the environmental workforce through investments in renewable energy development
• Confronts the climate crisis and builds resilience to climate change by expanding environmental enforcement efforts with a focus on land and water conservation
• Protects and preserves public lands and biodiversity, which encompasses threatened and endangered species and their habitats
• Invests in historically underserved communities overburdened by disproportionate impacts from pollution
• Dedicates the highest-ever level of funding to the arts and humanities

As a member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Congresswoman McCollum has worked to ensure this bill addresses priorities for Minnesotans and Americans across the nation. For 2023, the bill provides funding of $27.2 billion – a critical increase of $2.075 billion, 8 percent– above 2022. In total, the bill includes $195 billion for both discretionary programs funded on an annual basis and mandatory programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A summary of the bill is here. The text of the bill is here. The bill report is here.

The legislation:

• Includes McCollum-requested language addressing the dangers of harmful skin-lightening cosmetic products, which disproportionately impact women of color
• Addresses the dangers of Chronic Wasting Disease with funding to help states and tribes develop CWD surveillance, testing, management, and response activities.
• Rebuilds our public health infrastructure and strengthens the safety of our baby formula market with increased funding to address maternal and infant nutrition, including resources for the ‘Closer to Zero' initiative to reduce exposure to toxic elements in babies' and young children's food, emerging food-related chemical and toxicological issues, drug safety oversight, as well as providing additional resources for in-person inspections of one of the largest foreign drug manufacturing countries, and drug and device supply chain monitoring and surveillance. The bill also invests in our public health infrastructure by modernizing FDA's data infrastructure to better ensure the safety and security of the food and medical supply chain.
• Tackles hunger and nutrition insecurity by providing increased access to fruits and vegetables to 6.2 million people through WIC and ensuring 43.5 million people in SNAP-eligible families get the benefits they need. The bill also invests in the health of America's kids through Child Nutrition programs, like school meals, which are now the healthiest source of food consumed in the United States.
• Grows opportunity and lifts up rural communities with a critical increase for rural broadband, a new 1 percent loan program for water programs for rural areas, and a record investment of $1.5 billion in single family home loans.
• Provides important investments to ensure equitable participation in USDA programs. In total, the bill provides increases for extension, research, and capacity grants at our 1890 land grants, 1994 land grants, and Hispanic serving institutions to help strengthen the pipeline for the future of agriculture. It also provides increased funding to improve outreach and program access to historically underserved communities and more than doubles funding for Tribal relations activities.
• Provides full pay and FERS costs for both USDA and FDA. For FDA, this is the first time in years such costs have been provided. Including these costs ensures that these expenses do not come out of base program funding.

The package also contains nine of Congresswoman McCollum's Community Project Funding requests, totaling $27.7 million for Minnesota's Fourth District. They are:

• Project: City of Woodbury East Wellfield Manifold Pipe ($3,450,000)
  This funding would be used to connect three municipal drinking water supply wells within the City of Woodbury to a single raw water line to facilitate subsequent connection to a water treatment facility addressing PFAS contamination in order to improve drinking water quality for residents.
• Project: City of Birchwood Village Sewer Lift Station Replacement ($480,000)
  This funding would be used for the replacement of the City's current sewer lift station, which is subject to corrosion due to a neighboring community's water main break that flooded and damaged the station.
• Project: USDA Agricultural Research Service Cereal Disease Lab located on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota ($7,000,000)
  This initial funding will help lay the groundwork for the planning and development of a new next generation laboratory facility that will make gains in addressing new and emerging pathogenic strains in important agricultural crops in order to mitigate risks to U.S. agriculture and our global food supply.
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump ($2,200,000)
  This funding would help to replace an inefficient natural gas steam boiler with a Hydro Geothermal Heat Pump, a more energy efficient heating and cooling system. it is expected to reduce emissions by up to 50%, lowering facility operating costs so more resources can be used to enhance programs that serve our community.
• Latino Economic Development Center Plaza del Sol ($1,000,000)
  The funding would be used for the rehabilitation of Plaza del Sol, which would house at least eight small businesses on its first floor. Additionally, the commissary kitchen will be the launchpad for dozens of new Latino-owned small businesses annually.
• Neighborhood Development Center Cybersecurity Information Center ($1,600,000)
  This funding would be used, in partnership with Metro State University, to build out space as a cybersecurity information center to assist small neighborhood businesses, and launch a program for budding cybersecurity professionals to hone their skills.
• Saint Paul North End Community Center ($4,000,000)
  This funding would be used to complete construction of the North End Community Center on Rice Street in Saint Paul, which will be a community space with amenities that encourage and promote relationship building and physical activities.
• Ordway Center for Performing Arts Facilities Improvement ($3,930,000)
  This funding would be used to replace the roof above the Ordway's Music Theater, upgrade its lighting infrastructure, and install LED light fixtures – so it can continue to provide opportunities to engage, entertain, and inspire our community.
• Playwrights' Center ($4,000,000)
  This funding would be used for the redesign and renovation of the Playwrights' Center, which supports playwrights and promotes new plays to production at theaters across the country.

In keeping with the Appropriations Committee's commitment to transparency, information on Rep. McCollum's Community Project Funding requests is available here.

A detailed summary of the funding package is available here.

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