07.12.24

Senate Appropriations Committee Advances Spending Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin, Duckworth

The package includes Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch for Fiscal Year 2025

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced funding bills for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25).  Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in these three appropriations bills, both through Congressionally Directed Spending requests and through the programmatic appropriations process. 

“Bipartisan efforts are necessary to get many meaningful things done in Washington.  And right now, one of the most pressing items requiring a bipartisan effort is passing appropriations bills that fund the government for the next fiscal year,” said Durbin.  “This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee took the first step to advance these bills which will benefit families, communities, and the economy in Illinois.  I look forward to taking up the remaining bills as soon as possible.”

“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Duckworth said. “I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that help expand healthcare and childcare access and more.”

These funding bills include the following Illinois priorities secured by Congressionally Directed Spending requests:

Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies

  • Capital Improvements, Peoria: $1.5 million to the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), a federal laboratory that has been responsible for countless agriculture, food safety, environmental, and health care discoveries since its inception, for necessary modernizations to the federal buildings that house laboratories of the Agricultural Research Service.  These improvements include the replacement of the fire alarm system, components of which are no longer supported by the manufacturer, posing a life safety issue at the facility. 
  • Capital Improvements, Urbana: $500,000 to the Agricultural Research Service for necessary repairs and modernizations to their facilities in Urbana.  These improvements include repairs and updates to domestic water distribution equipment and piping, heating and cooling systems, and electrical systems.  
  • Health Clinic, LaHarpe: $1 million to Memorial Hospital Association to help construct an additional health clinic to expand access to health care in the Western Illinois community.
  • Hospital Infrastructure Improvements, Watseka: $560,000 to the Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home to update aged and outdated facilities, including HVAC systems and flooring.
  • Intergenerational Center, Fairbury: $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Livingston County to construct an intergenerational community center to provide programming and services to youth and seniors at the same site.
  • Laboratory Renovation, Pittsfield: $1 million to the Blessing Care Corporation to update the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in order to modernize facilities that are more than 80 years old.
  • Pre-K Expansion, Herrin: $522,000 to Herrin Community Unit School District No. 4 to help expand capacity at the district’s pre-K center.
  • Rural Health Clinic Expansion, West Frankfort: $1 million to Southern Illinois Hospital Services to expand the Miners Memorial Rural Health Clinic to provide improvements in both patient rooms and provider workspace.
  • Teledentistry Initiative, Mattoon: $105,000 to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center to expand rural telehealth efforts to include teledentistry with an emphasis on underserved children.

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

  • Forging Equipment Annex, Rock Island: $5 million to house the expanding forging capability at Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center.  This critical requirement will support a wide array of weapon systems across all of the services and expand the existing limited forging area. 
  • Marseilles Range Control, Marseilles: $4.3 million to renovate and modernize an operations and maintenance facility for the Illinois Army Guard. 
  • New Weapons Quality Assurance/Calibration Facility, Rock Island: $4.25 million for a new building for the Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center.  The new building will replace five buildings that are reaching the end of their usefulness. 

These funding bills include additional Illinois priorities through the programmatic appropriations process:

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

·       WIC: $7.7 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, to fully fund the program to meet growing demand and higher food prices.

·       SNAP: Fully funds the program at $123 billion to serve an estimated 42 million Americans.

·       Child Nutrition: Fully funds school lunch and breakfast programs at $20.9 billion, and $2.6 billion in new summer meal grocery benefit funding for children.

·       Bee Genome: $3 million that includes report language to continue sequencing the genome of more than 4,000 domestic bee species, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.

·       Agricultural Research: $3.2 billion for basic food and agricultural research nationwide, including activities underway at the Peoria USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research and the University of Illinois.

·       Tracking Farm Exports by State: Includes report language requiring USDA to track and publish the top five farm commodities exported, or imported, by State, and the country of destination, or origin.

·       Plant Health, Tree and Wood Pests: $59 million to help identify and contain wood-boring pests threatening tree health across the country, 19 of which have been detected in the past decade, including the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).  Funding will allow for the identification and containment of Emerald Ash Borer infestations and increase public awareness of the threat posed by EAB in the 15 states that are battling this invasive species.    

·       Animal Welfare: $40.25 million to implement and enforce provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those governing facilities that previously have fallen out of compliance with the AWA. 

·       Rural e-Connectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program): $75 million to support loans and grants that facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas without sufficient broadband access.

·       Food for Peace: $1.72 billion to meet emergency food needs around the world, including due to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and conflict, displacement, poverty, and climate change exacerbating needs around the world. 

·       McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program: $250 million to support school feeding and maternal and child nutrition projects around the world, particularly for girls.

·       Local and Regional Procurement: $25 million to build long-term agricultural sustainability around the world and promote locally sourced agricultural products, which remain less costly and more accessible when compared to commodities sourced from the United States and shipped overseas.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

  • FDA Topline Funding: $6.872 billion for prescription drug, medical device, food safety, and tobacco regulation efforts, reflecting higher user fees and increased appropriations.
  • Tobacco: Includes new bill language directing FDA to enhance its regulatory and enforcement efforts against unauthorized e-cigarettes that pose a public health risk to children.  Additionally, the bill includes $2 million in new funding to support FDA’s activities as part of the recently announced task force with the Department of Justice for enforcement against unauthorized e-cigarettes.  It also includes report language requested by the Senators to urge FDA to finish its review of e-cigarette applications, remove unauthorized vapes from the market, and to deny applications for flavored products that are likely to increase youth use.
  • ALS: $2.5 million to implement the ACT for ALS law to enable FDA to fund early-stage clinical trials for new ALS therapies. 
  • Pharma Marketing: Includes report language on FDA issuing guidance to clarify the obligation of pharmaceutical companies in their promotional activities to doctors, which can lead to inappropriate and excessive prescribing.
  • Food Safety: $1.195 billion for FDA’s Human Foods Program to oversee food and nutrition in the United States.  Also includes report language directing FDA to empower the Deputy Commissioner of Human Foods with oversight over all food-related inspection resources and includes report language directing FDA to increase the inspection of food facilities.

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

·       Naval Station Great Lakes Housing: Includes report language requiring the Navy to report on plans to address housing capacity and conditions at Naval Station Great Lakes as the service plans to remediate and dispose of unused housing that is in poor condition.  The report is also required to include an assessment of the feasibility and impact of a new housing construction project for accompanied service members.  The Senators requested this language as part of their broader efforts to improve housing conditions at Naval Station Great Lakes and support the North Chicago School District.

·       VA Medical and Prosthetic Research: $937 million to support ongoing and new research in areas such as toxic exposures, traumatic brain injury, and precision oncology.

·       Caregivers: $2.9 billion to support family caregivers of disabled veterans and the expansion of the program to include pre-9/11 veterans.

·       State Home Construction Grants: $150 million to construct, renovate, or repair State owned and operated nursing homes.

·       Smoke-Free VA: Includes report language based on Durbin’s Smoke-Free VA bill that supports the Veterans Health Administration’s prohibition on smoking.

·       PFAS Blood Testing for Firefighters: Includes report language supporting PFAS blood testing for military firefighters at the VA as a part of their annual exam.

·       Prescription Produce Program: Includes report language supporting implementing local prescription produce programs at VA facilities.

·       Women Veterans Medical Research: Includes report language to advance and expand the inclusion of women veterans in clinical trials.

·       Lethal Means Safety and Suicide Program: Includes report language supporting VA’s efforts on firearm safe storage to prevent veteran suicide.

Legislative Branch

  • Teaching with Primary Sources: $10 million for the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program administered by the Library of Congress.  Report language also was included regarding partnerships between the TPS program and educational institutions and foundations, like the original partner institutions in Illinois.

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