The House today passed a bipartisan Omnibus Appropriations agreement to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022.
The package includes several key priorities championed by Rep. Greg Stanton, including resources the Bureau of Reclamation needs to fulfill its commitment under the Drought Contingency Plan, tools so that communities across the country can continue to access capital for critical economic development projects, and support for nine Arizona projects totaling $9.9 million.
“From fostering economic development and rebuilding our workforce to protecting our water supply, these funds will make a critical difference in the lives of so many Arizonans,” Stanton said.
The package provides $25 million for the Bureau of Reclamation to fulfill its commitment under the Drought Contingency Plan, something Stanton urged House appropriators to include last year.
The package included Stanton’s bipartisan bill to reauthorize the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which supports job creation and promotes economic development in rural or high unemployment areas by incentivizing foreign capital investment.
Stanton also secured funding for nine community projects that will directly help Arizona residents:
Arizona
- $4 million to advance the new $150 million Arizona-centered environmental infrastructure authority Stanton successfully included in the 2020 Water Resources Development Act, which was based on his bill, H.R. 2206, the Environmental Infrastructure Assistance Act. This builds on the $18.45 million Stanton secured earlier this year under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 10 water infrastructure projects across Arizona. These funds will be used to provide grants to communities and tribal nations across to address their water infrastructure needs.
- $1.8 million for Tres Rios, an ecosystem restoration project along the Salt and Gila rivers, which Stanton advocated for during his time as Phoenix mayor. The project was supported by the late Sen. John McCain and Rep. Ed Pastor and is designed to provide flood control protection and the use of treated effluent from a regional wastewater treatment facility to restore hydrological connectivity and sustain fish and wildlife habitats. Specifically, the funds support a Post Authorization Change Report that is necessary to complete construction of the project.
City of Chandler
- $990,000 for Chandler to install smart meters to better conserve the city’s water supply. These funds were requested by Mayor Kevin Hartke and the Chandler City Council.
City of Mesa
- $600,000 for Terros Health in Mesa to help renovate 5,500 square feet of existing space to build out Café (Children, Adolescents, and Families Empowered) Stapley to create a model apartment for high-risk and at-risk youth, ages 12 to 17, in Arizona communities to support teaching day-to-day skills and relationships. This model of care holds promise to reduce costs of health care related to emergency care, residential treatment and other societal costs realized in the justice system.
- $300,000 to assist small businesses in downtown Mesa with façade improvements, including new or refurbished business signage, colonnade rehabilitation or removal, and small- to medium-sized façade design and construction projects. Downtown Mesa is a federally designated Opportunity Zone and locally designated Redevelopment Area. These funds were requested by the City of Mesa.
- $300,000 to support the Aliento Education Fund’s efforts to boost first-generation immigrant and Latino students through social-emotional programming. These programs include paid student fellowships and internships; building the capacity of educators, counselors and school leaders through professional development on college access and post-secondary pathways; and supporting collaboration with cross-sector partnerships such as school districts, community colleges, universities, businesses, and cities to advocate for increased access to higher education.
City of Tempe
- $500,000 to support Tempe’s efforts address homelessness by helping to acquire an existing hotel of up to 60 rooms to provide shelter for up to 120 vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness. While at the facility, temporary residents would receive services and await transition to permanent supportive housing. These funds were requested by the City of Tempe.
- $500,000 to support Tempe’s efforts to lift up local entrepreneurs—with a focus on minority entrepreneurs—and help them overcome the most significant obstacles to start-up manufacturing through grants to cover the cost of space, start-up raw materials and equipment necessary for micromanufacturing. The funds would also support Tempe’s effort to train and coach entrepreneurs.
City of Phoenix
- $960,000 for Phoenix to make essential safety improvements to the intersection at 32nd Street and Thomas Road, including traffic signal rebuild, crosswalk enhancements, street lighting and ADA upgrades. This intersection is ranked as the 39th most dangerous intersection in the region by the Maricopa Association of Governments. These funds were requested by the City of Phoenix.
Supplemental legislation approved by the House shores up U.S. defenses against Russian cyber-attacks and authorizes $13.6 billion in much-needed security and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. The House today passed separate legislation making good on Stanton’s call to ban U.S. imports of Russian energy products.
“These investments will ensure the strength of American diplomatic and defense efforts as we combat Putin’s aggression,” Stanton said.
Text of the spending package, H.R. 2471, is available here. Explanatory statements are available here. A full summary of the 12 regular appropriations bills is here. A summary of the Ukraine supplemental is here and a one-page fact sheet is here.
The legislation is expected to come before the Senate by Friday, before going to the President’s desk for signature.