{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398789", "Young on Short-Term Funding Bill: Not a Perfect Approach, But We Were Able to Include a Tremendous Amount of Good for Alaska and the Nation", "2016-09-28", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Don Young", "Y000033", "donyoung.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Alaskan Congressman Don Young\u00a0this evening voted in favor of a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) Appropriations Package, which funds the federal government through December 9, 2016. In addition to providing the full Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations, the bill contains $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight and prevent the spread of the Zika virus and $37 million to help fight the nation\u2019s opioid epidemic.\r\n\u201cAs I\u2019ve said before, shutting down the government is both shortsighted and irresponsible. Ultimately, it hurts the American people \u2013 our military, our senior citizens, our small businesses and the working people of Alaska and the nation,\u201d said Congressman Don Young. \u201cToday\u2019s short-term spending measure is certainly not a perfect approach, but we were able to include a tremendous amount of good for Alaska and the nation \u2013 vital funding to support our troops, major improvements and reforms for our veterans, and efforts to address the nation\u2019s growing opioid epidemic. By prioritizing investments to support Defense infrastructure projects and improve the Department of Veteran Affairs, this bill will have a tremendous impact on Alaska \u2013 not only for our economy and our local communities but for the defense of our nation and the wellbeing of our veterans. Although there\u2019s much work to be done when Congress returns \u2013 including a number of major reforms and policy provisions to roll back many of this Administration\u2019s destructive rules and regulations \u2013 I\u2019m pleased that Congress could put its differences aside to focus on the immediate needs of the nation.\u201d\r\nToday\u2019s bill provides $7.9 billion to fund military family housing, Guard and Reserve facilities, and military bases in the U.S. and around the world, including numerous projects in Alaska requested by Congressman Don Young \u2013 totaling\u00a0 $561 million dollars.\r\nClear Air Force Station:\r\n \r\n    $20 million for a Fire Station\r\n    $155 million for Phase 1 of the Long Range Discrimination Radar\r\n \r\nEielson Air Force Base:\r\n \r\n    $22 million to renovate the Field Training Detachment Facility for F-35s\r\n    $79.5 million to build a 16-bay Weather Shelter for the 1st squadron of F-35s\r\n    $83 million to build a 16-bay Weather Shelter for the 2nd squadron of F-35s\r\n    $11.3 million to build Earth Covered magazines for F-35s\r\n    $44.9 million to build a 4 bay hangar/Maintenance/Corrosion Control Facility for F-35s\r\n    $42.7 million to build a 4-bay F-35A Maintenance Hangar/Squadron Operations Center\r\n    $12.8 million to build a Missile Maintenance Facility for F-35s\r\n \r\nJoint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER):\r\n \r\n    $29.1 million to add to and alter the JBER Alert AWACS Hangar\r\n    $4.9 million for a Fuel Offload Facility\r\n \r\nFort Greely:\r\n \r\n    $9.56 million for a Missile Defense Switchgear Facility\r\n \r\nFort Wainwright:\r\n \r\n    $47 million for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hangar\r\n \r\nIn addition, the Department of Veterans Affairs will receive a total of $74.4 billion in discretionary funding for medical services which include critical funding for mental health, suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury, services for homeless veterans, and rural health initiatives. Congressman Young supported a number of items of Alaskan interest, including:\r\n \r\n    $250 million for Rural Health Initiative:\u00a0 Continues the VA\u2019s rural health initiative to provide access and quality care to veterans in rural areas, including home-based primary care, rural Community Based Outpatient Clinics, transportation of rural veterans, and home-based therapies.\r\n    $29.3 million for Indian Health Services Reimbursement:\u00a0Used to reimburse Indian Health Service (IHS) for direct health care services provided to eligible American Indian and Alaska Native veterans in IHS facilities.\r\n    $7.9 billion for Mental Health Programs:\u00a0Ensures the VA has the adequate funding for treating veterans with mental health issues. $164 million of this amount is specifically set aside for suicide prevention outreach.\r\n    $173 million for Suicide Prevention Programs: Funds programs designed to prevent the incredible tragedy of 20 veteran suicides per day. \r\n    VA Contracts with Tribal Health Care Centers: Allows the VA to enter into agreements with Federally Qualified Health Centers in the State of Alaska and with Indian tribes and tribal organizations which are party to the Alaska Native Health Compact with the Indian Health Service. These contracts are critical to ensuring veterans in rural Alaska can access quality healthcare and services.\r\n    Medical Marijuana Provision: Allows VA physicians and health-care providers to make recommendations regarding marijuana to their patients in states where medical marijuana is legal.\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398789"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6530260909348726, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}