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U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, voted on Wednesday to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, a package of six domestic funding bills that would avert a government shutdown and fund the programs that Americans rely on. Rep. Sewell secured $9.8 million for 11 community projects that would make Alabama’s 7th Congressional District safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The package passed the House of Representatives today by a bipartisan vote of 339-85 and now heads to the U.S. Senate.
“I am thrilled that the House of Representatives has come together to pass a commonsense government funding package that invests in the programs and services that my constituents rely on,” said Rep. Sewell. “Thanks to the work of House Democrats, this legislation prevents devastating Republican cuts, invests in affordable housing, strengthens public safety, and provides critical resources to combat the climate crisis.”
The House-passed government funding package includes $9.8 million that Rep. Sewell secured for 11 community projects. Such investments will directly benefit the residents of Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. They include:
- $500,000 for the Black Belt Development and Conservation Resource Center in Livingston to spur rural innovation and entrepreneurship.
- $1,000,000 for the Hale County Healthcare Authority to construct a new emergency department at the Hale County Hospital and expand its capacity to provide exceptional health care to rural and underserved communities in the Black Belt.
- $1,000,000 for the Town of Pennington to develop a regional facility that can serve as a community center, disaster recovery, emergency response, and resources center for the region.
- $959,752 for Wilcox County to install water lines and ensure a safe and reliable source of potable water.
- $500,000 for the Bessemer Airport Authority to construct a UAV cage and testing facility which will provide pilot training, product research and development, competitive activities and recreation for the local community including underserved students.
- $1,000,000 for the City of Homewood to improve drainage by installing a stormwater culvert.
- $1,000,000 for the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District to renovate the former Loveman Village Public Housing Community and expand the on-site daycare facility to accommodate more children.
- $850,000 for Miles College to make security upgrades and improve public safety resources on-campus and in the surrounding community.
- $500,000 for the City of Montgomery to revitalize underserved communities by improving parks and installing lighting/signage in the downtown area.
- $1,666,279 for the City of Selma to address decaying and obsolete infrastructure within a 12-block area of downtown Selma.
- $850,000 for the West Alabama Food Bank to increase distribution capabilities in Alabama’s western most counties and provide fresh food to seniors and children.
“Throughout the year, we have been working hard to include funding for our communities in this package, and I am thrilled to announce that we secured $9.8 million for projects in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District!” said Rep. Sewell. “From housing to healthcare to public safety, the investments that we secured respond directly to the needs of our district and will continue to reverse decades of disinvestment.”
Democrats rejected extreme Republican cuts and secured key wins for the American people. The package:
- Fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at the administration’s requested level of $7.03 billion, an increase of more than $1 billion.
- Reverses the Republican effort to drastically cut the fruit and vegetable benefits in the WIC program.
- Fully funds participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- Drops the Republican proposal to limit women’s access to mifepristone.
- Addresses gender-based violence with an increase in funding for Violence Against Women Act prevention and prosecution programs.
- Provides $100 million for EDA’s Public Works program, which supports brick-and-mortar projects in distressed communities across the nation.
- Fights job discrimination through continued strong funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Provides critical legal assistance to underserved communities through continued strong funding for the Legal Services Corporation.
- Confronts the climate crisis with continued robust funding for Earth Science and related climate research.
- Creates tens of thousands of good-paying jobs with a focus on deploying clean energy technologies and creating the green jobs of tomorrow in communities across the country.
- Confronts the climate crisis with more than $15 billion of transformative investments in clean energy and science, which will help develop clean, affordable, and secure American energy.
- Invests more than $10 billion in our nation’s water infrastructure, critical to protecting communities from more frequent and severe storms.
- Protects Environmental Justice (EJ) activities, providing $100 million and rejects the $1.4 billion rescission in the House Republican bill of Inflation Reduction Act EJ funds.
- Stabilizes communities by protecting housing assistance for nearly 5 million low-income individuals and families to ensure they continue to remain in safe, stable, and affordable housing.
- Provides $9 billion for public housing, an increase of $297 million from fiscal year 2023, which includes $3.2 billion to improve the quality and safety of public housing for more than 1.7 million residents.
- Provides $121 billion for veterans’ medical care.
This package includes the following funding bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.
The remaining six appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024 are expected to be released in the coming days and be voted on ahead of their expiration on March 22.
