WASHINGTON – Last week, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) voted to pass H.R. 4502, a seven-bill Appropriations Minibus that includes 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. The final package included six O’Halleran Community Project Funding Requests.
“I’m proud to see the community projects I’ve advocated for included in this package of appropriations,” said O’Halleran. “Working with Arizona stakeholders, we secured important resources for new physical infrastructure, water and flooding safety projects, and innovation that will benefit hardworking First District families.”
Included within the bill are six Community Project Funding Requests O’Halleran submitted on behalf of Arizona stakeholders:
· Army Corps of Engineers Little Colorado River, Winslow, AZ, funded at $500,000
· Army Corps of Engineers McCormick Wash, Globe, AZ, funded at $100,000
· City of Flagstaff, Home energy retrofit program for low-income and vulnerable families, funded at $750,000
· Gila River Indian Community Traffic Sign Replacement, funded at $915,000
· San Carlos Apache Tribe, San Carlos Apache College Library/Computer Center, funded at $875,000
· Town of Superior, AZ, Workforce, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Center funded at $2,000,000
“Because of Congressman O’Halleran’s leadership in securing a $2 million community project funding request to complete our new Superior Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center, Superior will be able to attract high-paying jobs and new residents to this growing area of the Copper Corridor. Congressman O’Halleran continues to be a champion for rural Arizona and we are most appreciative of his continued support and advocacy for our community,” said Superior Mayor Mila Besich
Under the minibus, Arizona’s First Congressional District specifically will receive an additional:
· $520,000 in new funding to support local job training programs for adults and youth;
· $60.2 million in new funding for public schools supporting children at risk of being left behind; and
· $50.9 million in new funding to strengthen veterans’ health care programs.
Also included in the package were initiatives O’Halleran championed, such as
· $49 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
· $10.6 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
· over $907 million for rural broadband to expand service to provide economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services, including $800 million for the ReConnect program;
· $5.66 billion for Wildland Fire Management, which includes $2.45 billion in cap adjusted fire suppression funding;
· and $4.14 billion for the Forest Service;
· $8.1 billion for the Indian Health Service;
· $307 million for Rural Health Initiatives;
· $621 million for Opioid Abuse Prevention;
· $97.6 billion for Veterans Medical Care;
· $61.8 million in funding for scientific and regulatory work on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), needed to establish drinking water and cleanup standards;
· investments in infrastructure to help rural areas of the country access basic utilities, including $1.45 billion for rural water and waste program loans and over $716 million in water and waste grants for clean and reliable drinking water systems and sanitary waste disposal systems, which will provide safe drinking water to millions of rural residents.
· and an additional $7.195 billion in loan authority for rural electric and telephone infrastructure loans.