{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/menendez-year-end-legislative-package-delivers-for-nj", "Menendez: Year-End Legislative Package Delivers for NJ", "2019-12-20", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Robert Menendez", "M000639", "www.menendez.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Menendez: Year-End Legislative Package Delivers for NJ \n\t\t\t\n\t Menendez: Year-End Legislative Package Delivers for NJ \n\t\n\t\t Spending bill includes investments in key health care priorities, gun safety, Gateway, election security, education & environment \n\t\n\t\n\tFriday, December 20, 2019\n\t\n\t\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) applauded passage today of a bipartisan federal funding package for Fiscal Year 2020 that provides significant new investments in gun safety, election security, child care, and higher education. The Senator also secured key funding increases for several New Jersey priorities, including his Firefighter Cancer Registry, Autism CARES, to battle the scourge of opioid addiction and to keep the Gateway Project moving forward.\r\n \r\nThis bipartisan agreementincludes significant investments that benefit middle-class and working families across New Jersey, protect our communities,fund key priorities that will improve the quality of life for residents, and support critical research into Alzheimer's disease, gun violence, and cancer rates among our nation's courageous firefighters,said Sen. Menendez. The American people, and the people in my state want us to work together with our colleagues from across the aisle to get things donenot allow vindictive, partisan politics to threaten critical programs they rely upon. This commonsense, bipartisan legislation shows we can deliver for our constituents.\r\n \r\nThe year-end funding package includes:\r\nGun Violence and Public Safety\r\n \r\nGun Violence Research: For the first time in decades, Congress has broken a ban on gun violence research and will invest a combined $25 million for the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health to undertake critical research into our rising gun violence epidemic.\r\nDomestic Violence Prevention:$502.5 million for domestic violence grants within the Violence Against Women Act program, the highest level in its history.\r\nThe package provides a total of$233.3 million in Department of Justice grant programs to address gun violence and keep our communities safe, including $78.3 million for all states to improve the quality of criminal and mental health records so interstate background checks are more effective. It also includes $10 million to train local police on response to active shooter situations through POLICE Act grants; $12 million for improved officer safety through VALOR grants; $8 million for Community Based Violence Prevention grants; and $125 million for STOP School Violence Act grants.\r\nCOPS Hiring:$235 million, an increase of $6.5 million over 2019 level and $136 million more than the President's request, which will place approximately 1,300 more police officers on the streets of our communities.\r\nHomeland Security: Includes $665 million, an increase of $25 million, for Urban Area Security Initiative grants, including $50 million for non-profit organizations within UASI areas to help protect religious and other institutions; an additional $40 million, up $30 million, for non-profit organizations outside UASI areas; $710 million for AFG and SAFER grants, up $5 million each to support local firefighters; $355 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants; $125 million for Emergency Food and Shelter; $100 million for Public Transportation Security Assistance grants; $100 million each for Port and Transit Security grants.\r\nTRIA Reauthorization: Includes passage of a seven-year reauthorization of theTerrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA),for which Sen. Menendez is an original co-sponsor.\r\n \r\nAutism, Health and Opioids\r\n \r\nAutism CARES:Provides $52.3 million, an increase of $1.7 million, to fund research and development of new treatments and therapies authorized through Sen. Menendez's Autism CARES Act.\r\nFirefighter Cancer Registry:Sen. Menendez secured an additional $1.5 million in funding, bringing the total funding for the program to $2.5 million.His Firefighter Cancer Registry Act became law in 2018 and creates a national cancer registry for firefighters diagnosed with the deadly disease and calls on the CDC to monitor and study the relationship between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of cancer in firefighters.\r\nAlternatives to Opioids (ALTO):Secures $5 million for the Alternatives to Opioids national pilot program, passed by Sens. Menendez and Cory Booker and inspired by the pioneering work at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J. to reduce the use of opiates for pain management in the emergency room.\r\nOpioid Funding: $3.8 billion to fight opioid use, including $1.5 billion for State Opioid Response Grants.\r\nCREATES Act:Includes final passage of the Senator's legislation which will help rein in skyrocketing prescription drug costs by making it easier for lower-cost generics to come to market.\r\nTobacco & E-Cigs:Raises the age to 21 to purchase tobacco and electronic cigarette products.\r\nKay Hagan Tick Act:Includes passage of legislation cosponsored by Sen. Menendez to require the development and implementation of a nation strategy for vector- borne diseases, like Lyme's disease.\r\nNIH Funding:Includes a $2.6 billion increase for National Institutes of Health, bringing total funding to $41.7 billion and rejecting President Trump's proposal to cut the agency by $4.9 billion. This includes significant funding for Alzheimer's disease and brain research.\r\nCancer Research:Sen. Menendez led a bipartisan request to increase funding for both ovarian and prostate cancer research grants and investigations administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command.The package includes $35 million for ovarian cancer and $110 million for prostate cancera combined $25 million increase.\r\nChildren's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education:Includes $340 million, an increase of $15 million to support freestanding, children's hospitals to help them maintain their graduate medical education (GME) programs that train resident physicians and dentists.\r\n \r\nTransportation and Infrastructure\r\n \r\nAmtrak:Increases funding dedicated to the Northeast Corridor by $50 million over FY 19, for a total $700 million that can be tapped in part to fund the Gateway Project.\r\nTransit formula funds:Provides full funding of approximately $640 million for New Jersey's transit infrastructure, which in part can be used to fund the Gateway Project. The bill also includes bonus transit formula dollars on top of the guaranteed levels.\r\nPreserves $75 million in New Jersey Transit funding:The bill prevents the application of the Rostenkowski Rule, a test for the solvency of the Mass Transit Account. Without this language, New Jersey would have seen a $75 million cut in its transit apportionment.\r\nTeterboro Airport:Extends Sen. Menendez's provision prohibiting changes to the weight limits at Teterboro Airport.The provision prevents larger, noisier aircraft from accessing the airport, protecting the airport's infrastructure and improving quality of life for residents in surrounding neighborhoods.\r\nNew Jersey Army Corps Projects:Includes more than $123.5 million for New Jersey Army Corps projects.\r\n \r\nElection Security\r\n \r\nProvides more than $425 million in election security grants to help secure America's 2020 electionsnearly double the amount that Senate Republicans reluctantly supported in earlier Senate legislation.\r\n \r\nEducation\r\n \r\nChild Care/Early Childhood Education:Provides a $550 million increase for the Child Care Development Block Grant for a program total of $5.826 billion, more than doubling funding from three years ago. Head Start also received a $550 million increase, bringing it to a record level of $10.6 billion.\r\nTitle IV:$1.2 billion for Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, a $40 million increase, which supports a wide range of activities including STEM education and school safety activities.\r\nIDEA:$13.6 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA/Special Education grants to states, an increase of $410 million, including preschool grants and grants for infants and families.\r\nAfter School Programs:$1.25 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support academic enrichment activities for students before school, after school, and during the summer, an increase of $28 million. The President proposed to eliminate this funding.\r\nPell Grants:Increases the max Pell grant award by $150 to a record $6,345 per student.\r\nCampus-Based Student Aid Programs:$865 million for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), an increase of $25 million, and $1.2 billion for Federal Work Study, an increase of $50 million. The President proposed to eliminate FSEOG entirely and drastically cut work study.\r\nHispanic Serving Institutions:Sen. Menendez led the effort to provide increased funding over FY19 levels for Hispanic Serving Institutions and Post Baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans, including education grants through the National Institutes of Food and Agriculture.\r\nSmithsonian Latino Center:Sen. Menendez led the effort to increase funding for Latino Initiatives and the Smithsonian Latino Center to $5 million.\r\n \r\nCensus\r\n \r\nSen. Menendez successfully advocated to provide theCensus Bureau with $6.696 billion to execute an accurate and efficient 2020 decennial Census next year.\r\n \r\nMilitary and Defense\r\n \r\nJoint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst:Sen. Menendez secured more than $2.1 billion that was authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act that passed earlier this week to fund12 KC-46A next generation mid-air refueling tankers that are expected to be delivered by 2021.\r\nMilitary Pay Raise:Supports a 3.1% pay raise for members of the Armed Forces.\r\nNational Guard:Provides $1.3 billion for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment account and $1.4 billion for 74 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters\r\n \r\nEnvironment and Energy\r\n \r\nPartnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program: Sen. Menendez successfully secured a 57% increase in funding for this program, which creates partnerships across all levels of government to preserve rivers in a natural, free-flowing condition.The bill includes $3.576 million, nearly $1.3 million over FY19. Four New Jersey riversGreat Egg Harbor, Lower Delaware, Maurice, and Musconetcongbenefit from the program.\r\nClimate:Includes a record $2.838 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to support funding for clean energy R&D at the Department of Energy. The bill also includes increased funding for climate science research at NASA and NOAA and significant funding for international efforts to combat climate change.\r\nClean Energy Tax Extenders:Extends the tax credit at full value for investments in wind power; credits for residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements; deductions for energy efficient commercial buildings; thenon-business energy propertycredit, which also applies to improvements for residential homes.\r\nOil Spill Liability Trust Fund:Extends the nine-cent-per-barrel excise tax to fund oil spill remediation.\r\nSchool Lead Testing:The bill provides $26 million for lead contamination testing at schools and child care centers.\r\nClean Water:The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) is funded at $1.394 billion, a $245 million increase, and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) is funded at $1.126 billion, a $262 million increase. The WIFIA water infrastructure loan program is funded at $7.3 billion, a $600 million increase from FY19.\r\nLIHEAP:The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) received $3.7 billion, an increase of $50 million. The program provides financial assistance for home heating and cooling to low-income households.\r\n \r\n\r\nAgriculture\r\n \r\nCranberry Research:Sen. Menendez secured an additional $750 million in funding for cranberry research for a total $4.7 million to be used for the improvement of cranberry yields, pest management, disease management, and water resource management by developing fields devoted to cranberry research and collection and storage of samples for analysis in appropriate existing laboratory facilities. New Jersey is one of the country's leading cranberry producers.\r\nFloriculture Crops Report:The Senator secured $500,000 to fund the Floriculture Crops Report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)  a benefit to New Jersey's large greenhouse industry.\r\nHorse slaughter:Sen. Menendez led a bipartisan effort to ensure the continued prohibition of funding for USDA meat inspectors at horse slaughter plants, effectively prohibiting the ban onhorse meat. Menendez is the Senate leader in the fight to ban horse slaughter.\r\nWIC: Senator Menendez worked to secure $6 billion in funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program which provides funding to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.\r\n \r\nHousing and Community and Economic Development\r\n \r\nManufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP):Includes $146 million for the MEP program, a $6 million increase above FY19, in support of this public-private partnership program serving small- and medium sized manufacturers.\r\nCommunity Development:Includes $175 million, a $25 million increase, for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to revitalize distressed neighborhoods\r\nHousing:Senator Menendez secured $793 million in funding for the Section 202 Housing for the Elderly program, an increase of $115 million. Senator Menendez also successfully obtained an increase of $17.8 million for the Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities program.\r\nCDFI Fund:Sen. Menendez led a request for robust funding for the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund program. The package provides $262 million for the program.\r\nRental Assistance:Sen. Menendez secured $12.6 billion for Section 8 project-based rental assistance, an $853 million increase from FY19.\r\n \r\nSECURE Act\r\n \r\nThe package includes the bipartisan SECURE Act that will provide taxpayers with more flexibility and make it easier for businesses to offer retirement benefits to their workers.\r\n \r\nTax Fixes\r\n \r\nMortgage Debt Tax Relief:As part of the 2017-expired extenders, the package extends through 2020 the exclusion of discharged mortgage debt from taxation.\r\nGold Star Families Fix:Includes a fix to the 2017 GOP tax bill that imposed a high level of tax on survivor benefits to children of fallen soldiers.The fix will also apply to children of deceased first responders.\r\n \r\n\r\n\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://www.menendez.senate.gov/news-and-events/press/menendez-year-end-legislative-package-delivers-for-nj"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 37.902986630797386, "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"}