WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., announced Friday critical investments in housing, health care, mental
health, education, and transportation services across the state as part of the
year-end funding package just approved by Congress.
The legislation passed in the Senate and also was passed
Friday by the House, sending it on to be signed into law by President Biden.
“At a time when Oregon’s working families are
struggling with the high costs of everything from rent to prescription drugs to
gas and groceries, it’s critical that our country prioritizes quality,
affordable health care, housing, and education-and that’s exactly what this
funding package does,” Merkley said. “We’re delivering major
investments that will support affordable housing, health care, research, and
education, which will have a huge impact on families in every corner of our
state and nation.”
“I’m happy the policies I’ve championed to make
housing, education and health care more affordable in Oregon and nationwide
have made it into this year’s government spending bill,” Wyden said. “Oregon
families will benefit from increased investments in affordable housing programs–
particularly in rural communities– as well as critical investments to improve
child, maternal and mental health care. I’m also proud to see Congress invest
in our children’s future by making education more accessible and investing in
career and technical training. I’ll keep up the fight in the Senate to help
Oregon families thrive in today’s economy and for future generations.”
Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either
chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee,
which wrote the bill and is considered to be one of the most powerful on
Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a
strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making.
Key elements that will benefit Oregon families in the
funding bills include:
Housing
Affordable Housing: As rural and urban
communities across Oregon continue to experience housing crises, the bill
includes an increase for affordable housing programs for some of Oregon’s most
vulnerable people-low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities,
including $14.907 billion for housing unit-specific rental assistance. The bill
also protects funding for housing programs that benefit the elderly and people
with disabilities.
Rural Housing: The Self-Help Homeownership
Opportunity Program (SHOP) and Rural Capacity Building Program received $13.5
million and $6 million, respectively. SHOP provides funds for non-profit
sweat-equity homebuilders, such as Habitat for Humanity, to cover land
purchases and infrastructure costs. The Rural Capacity funds are intended to
build the capacity of rural low-income housing non-profits by providing
training, information, technical assistance, and financing.
HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing: The
program received an additional $50 million to provide rental assistance
vouchers for homeless veterans, along with case management and clinical
services. This increase will provide additional rental vouchers for veterans
experiencing homelessness, and when combined with prior year appropriations and
available unleased vouchers, has the potential to eliminate veteran
homelessness based on the most recent complete data available. These vouchers
have been critical to reducing veterans’ homelessness by 55.3 percent since
2010.
Homeless Assistance and Prevention: The bill
includes $3.6 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, a $50 million increase
that will benefit organizations across Oregon. Within that funding, rapid
rehousing programs for victims of domestic violence received an additional $52
million; homeless youth programs received $107 million; and Emergency Solutions
Grants—particularly important to the Portland metro area—received $290 million
to support street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, and
rapid re-housing assistance.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program: The bill
includes $1.5 billion for the program to provide states and localities with
flexible resources to respond to their affordable housing challenges, including
rental housing and paths to homeownership for low-income families.
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation: The
program, also known as NeighborWorks America, received $166 million. The
national nonprofit offers support for affordable housing and community development
through public-private partnerships.
Community Development: The bipartisan bill
includes $3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program. This
program funds vital housing rehabilitation, supportive services, public
improvements and economic development projects in communities across Oregon and
the nation while encouraging local investment.
Health Care
Rural Health: The bill includes critical
investments in health care access and delivery in rural areas, including $145
million for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program and $12.5 million for
State Offices of Rural Health, including the Oregon Office of Rural Health. The
bill also includes $5 million to establish an Office of Rural Health at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—language based off Senator
Merkley’s Rural Health Equity Act and a bipartisan priority he led the charge
in championing.
Nursing: The bill includes $300 million to
support current nurses in Oregon and across the country and address the nursing
workforce shortage. Merkley led 40 senators in a letter to the committee
leaders to push for an increase in federal funding for nursing workforce
development programs, which support nurses at all levels of education,
training, and retention.
Reproductive Health Care: The bill includes
funding for reproductive health care programs, including nearly $300 million
for the Title X Family Planning Program and $101 million for teen pregnancy
prevention.
Maternal and Child Health: The bill includes
over $1.33 billion for programs to improve maternal and child health, including
$324 million specifically to combat this country’s maternal mortality crisis
and $8 million in new funding to increase training and support for Certified
Nurse Midwives with a focus on practitioners working in rural and underserved
communities.
Mental and Behavioral Health Care: The bill
includes $1.01 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant—an
increase of $150 million—to improve mental health services in all 50 states.
Oregon benefited from over $22 million in program funding in years prior. The
bill includes over $600 million for suicide prevention programs, including
$501.6 million in funding for 9-8-8, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Medical Research: The bill includes a $2.5
billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health, totaling
$47.5 billion in the fight against cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other
devastating diseases. The bill also includes funding to further research and
provide a more comprehensive understanding of COVID-19, including
susceptibility and long COVID.
Community Health Centers: The bill includes
$1.86 billion in funding to support ongoing efforts to increase accessibility
of medical services through community health centers. These centers serve a
vital role in ensuring access to primary care for rural and underserved
communities.
Rebuilding our Public Health System: Bolstering
our public health infrastructure is a matter of both public health and national
security, and this bill includes a $760 million increase for the CDC to
continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future public
health challenges. The bill also includes $965 million, an increase of $120
million, to improve and expand the Strategic National Stockpile, which is
critical to ensuring that doctors, nurses, and other health care providers have
the equipment and resources they need in the event of another public health
emergency.
Education
Education Research: The bill includes $807
million for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to support innovation,
research, and evaluation in education, including evaluating strategies to
combat learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic. Merkley led 19 senators in a
letter to the committee advocating for this investment; the University of
Oregon continues to be one of the top IES grant recipient institutions in the
nation.
Child Care and Early Education: The bill
includes over $20 billion to support access to child care and early education
nationwide, including over $8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block
Grant, a 30% increase, $12 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, and
$315 million for preschool development grants to build or enhance preschool
program infrastructure.
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Education: The
bill includes over $52 million for programs for migrant students and seasonal
farmworkers. Through this program, higher education and non-profit
organizations can receive funding to give migrant and seasonal farmworkers and
their children the opportunity to attend higher education or earn their GED.
Oregon State University, Chemeketa Community College, Portland Community
College, Treasure Valley Community College, and community-based organizations
in Oregon receive funds through this program.
Accessible Education: The bill includes $15.15
billion, nearly a $1 billion increase, for the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) state grants program, including funding to assist states
in providing a free, appropriate education for children with disabilities and
provide support services for over 7.6 million students nationwide, including
those participating in early intervention and preschool programs.
Student Support: The bill includes $1.2
billion for TRIO, a suite of eight educational programs that supports students
from first-generation college students and individuals from disadvantaged
backgrounds; as the first person in his family to graduate from college,
Merkley knows firsthand the value of this type of support and has been a fierce
advocate for the funding. The bill also includes a $500 increase in the maximum
Pell Grant award, the cornerstone of student financial aid, which would
increase the total maximum Pell grant award to $7,395 for the 2023 – 2024
school year. This is the largest increase in the maximum Pell grant award since
the 2009 – 2010 school year.
Career Training: The bill includes $2.2 billion,
a $100 million increase, for Career, Technical and Adult Education, which
supports the workforce and economy by training young people to fill in-demand,
twenty-first century jobs.
Community Services Block Grants: The bill
includes $804 million for the program which provides critical support for rural
Oregon communities, an increase of $34 million. Merkley led 30 Senators,
including Senator Wyden, in a letter to the committee pushing to preserve and
increase funding for the program.
Community Service: The bill funds AmeriCorps
VISTA volunteers at $103 million; Senior Corps programs at $237 million; and
State AmeriCorps grants at $557 million.
Transportation
Capital
Investment Grant Program: The bill includes nearly $2.210 billion for
the program, which provides funding for major transit investments that support
sustainable transportation and reduced congestion in cities like Portland,
Eugene, and Salem.
RAISE Grants: The program received an $800
million investment for FY23, in addition to $2.5 billion available in FY23 from
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This critical transportation grants program
has helped fund projects across Oregon, such as over $13 million for the
McGilchrist Complete Street Improvements in Salem.
Essential Air Service and Contract Towers: Merkley
and Wyden secured $354,827,000 for the Essential Air Service. The Essential Air
Service program supports flights between the City of Pendleton and Portland
International Airport, a vital connection to support economic development across
Eastern Oregon. Additionally, the bill provides $187.8 million for FAA Contract
Towers. There are six contract towers across Oregon, and this funding ensures
their continued operation.
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