FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2021
Appropriations bills include community projects championed by Congresswoman Barragán, important public health and environmental justice priorities she promoted, and millions for job training, education and veterans’ care in California’s 44th Congressional District
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán voted to make historic investments in public health, education, environmental justice and opportunity for working families in Los Angeles County and across the country, with H.R. 4502, a package to fund the federal government in the next fiscal year.
This essential legislation will improve the health and financial security of American families – while also investing in clean energy, public health and education to set America up for future success.
“The crucial programs in these bills will deliver historic investments in jobs, infrastructure, education, public health and more that will meet the needs of people in Los Angeles County and across the country in this critical moment. I am proud to support this package, which puts children and families first as we work to build a stronger, cleaner, brighter future,” Congresswoman Barragán said.
For the upcoming fiscal year, the House bundled seven government funding bills into a single “minibus” package. This essential legislation included landmark investments in nutrition, public health, education, veterans and other key social programs that will create new jobs and lift up working families in the wake of the pandemic, while advancing equity and justice for underserved communities and businesses.
Across the nation, the minibus will invest more federal dollars in:
- Health: SNAP, WIC and child nutrition, as well as programs to expand access to quality, affordable health care
- Clean Energy: setting America on course for a secure energy future and creating tens of thousands of good-paying green jobs with investments in clean energy and science
- Housing: Protects housing assistance for more than 4.8 million individuals and families to ensure they continue to remain in safe, stable, and affordable housing.
- Education: Title I and Special Education, Pell Grants and other financial assistance, and Minority-Serving Institutions including HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities
- Public Health: bolstering the CDC to fight future pandemics, as well as more funding to pursue scientific breakthroughs for diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and cancer, treat substance abuse, and improve mental health and maternal and child health
- Veterans: supporting veterans’ health – including women’s health care and mental health – as well as initiatives to combat veterans’ homelessness, create economic opportunities and rebuild military infrastructure
- Infrastructure: creating tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, including airports, highways, transit, rail and port systems, and directing more funding toward rural development including broadband, rental and other housing initiatives
Highlights for California’s 44th Congressional District
Job Training
In California’s 44th Congressional District, 31,000 youth and 206,000 adults are eligible to receive federally funded job training. The appropriations bill provides $3.1 billion in WIOA funds for job training for disadvantaged youth and adults, and for assistance to dislocated workers, an 8.8 percent increase over 2021.
Public Education
In California’s 44th Congressional District, an estimated 96,000 children benefited from federal Title I education funding in 2021, including 30,000 children living in poverty. The appropriations bill provides a 118 percent increase for Title 1 funds over 2021. This increase would provide $88.8 million in additional funding for schools in the district to support these children at risk of failing out of school.
Veterans’ Health Care
The appropriations bill provides $98.5 billion for veterans’ healthcare, an 8 percent increase over 2021. This increase would provide an additional $26.3 million in funding for veterans’ healthcare in California’s 44th Congressional District. These additional funds will enable the VHA to improve access to health care in key areas like women’s health, mental health, and opioid treatment; provide more veterans with home and community-based services; recruit and retain nurses and physicians; and support crucial medical research that improves veterans’ health and quality of life.
Additional Priorities Promoted by Congresswoman Barragán
One of Congresswoman Barragán’s top appropriations requests was to increase the EPA’s spending on environmental justice activities. Funding for environmental justice programs increased to $248 million, an increase of $235 million above the FY 2021 level.
Another one of Congresswoman Barragán’s top environmental priorities included in the Minibus are her request and amendment to increase the Targeted Airshed Grant Program to $71 million. This program makes air quality investments in communities with the highest levels of air pollution, like Los Angeles County. As Congresswoman Barragán requested, the program will now prioritize funding for ports.
This legislation boldly invests in public health programs, including projects to reduce racial disparities in health and conduct outreach on multiple myeloma.
The bill includes $153 million to understand and address the local social factors – like adequate housing, access to healthy food, and environmental safety – that all play a role in people’s well-being and cause health disparities from one community to another. This program was based on Congresswoman Barragán’s Improving Social Determinants of Health Act, which was reintroduced earlier this year.
The Minibus also includes language she requested to encourage the CDC to increase to increase outreach and education of multiple myeloma for high-risk individuals, especially African Americans, Hispanics, and other communities of color. Congresswoman Barragán has seen the devastating impact of this cancer up close, as her sister is suffering from this horrible, and often misunderstood, disease.
Below is a list of the local community projects in California’s 44th Congressional District totaling $6.5 million that were requested by Congresswoman Barragán and are included in the Appropriations bills.
“These are all important projects that will meet varied needs of my constituents in Southeast Los Angeles County. They will improve access to healthcare for underserved communities, advance early childhood education, fund services for homeless and housing insecure people, create green spaces in public housing, and more,” Congresswoman Barragán said. “It is my honor to fight for the people of California’s 44th Congressional District in Congress and I will continue to work for the federal funding we need to make our community stronger.”
San Pedro Permanent Supportive Housing – YWCA Harbor Area ($2 million)
This project would build permanent, supportive housing for homeless women and children in the Los Angeles Harbor area of San Pedro. The funding requested would contribute to the demolition of an existing building, as well as the design, planning, and construction of a new permanent supportive housing site. The project also includes restoring and expanding the neighboring YWCA of the Harbor Area (YWCA) headquarters in San Pedro – to allow the YWCA to increase their capacity for childcare, workforce development programs, and health services. In addition to expanding YWCA’s services to reach more community members, the renovations of the headquarters will also provide direct access to services for the women and children who will live in the future supportive housing site.
Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles – Greening Public Housing for the Future – Watts ($860,000)
This project, proposed by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, would significantly improve public health and wellbeing of the community through urban greening – supporting multiple green infrastructure developments to address long-standing environmental injustices in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. This project will develop a park network at the Jordan Downs public housing complex and a new outdoor field at the Nickerson Gardens housing community. The project also includes enhancing multiple community gardens throughout the neighborhood. The funding would also be used to provide additional tree canopy to provide more shade to combat the urban heat island effect.
HOPICS – Community Homeless and Housing Services Access Center – Compton ($250,000)
This project will assist homeless and housing insecure people in areas throughout the 44th Congressional District with meeting their food, health, and shelter needs. The funding requested will allow Special Services for Groups Inc. – Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care Services (HOPICS) to hire system navigators, case managers, and a program supervisor. Additionally, the funding would contribute to emergency services and operating expenses tied directly to the proposed project. The project also includes connecting vulnerable community members with the following support services: interim housing, eviction prevention, permanent housing subsidy groups, mental health, substance use treatment, employment and education support, and legal aid.
Harbor Community Health Centers – Clinic at Linc Housing Project – San Pedro ($1 million)
This project would support Harbor Community Health Centers (HCHC) in the build out of a 4,900 square-foot health clinic, including 6-10 primary care and behavioral health exam rooms and an in-house pharmacy, at a future affordable housing site for low- and moderate-income families. This project would allow HCHC to expand upon their two existing centers in San Pedro, California by developing a location to serve an additional 3,000 or more patients annually – providing greater access to healthcare for populations who are already burdened with disproportionate risks for asthma, obesity and diabetes, as well as poor access to healthcare because of housing instability.
East Los Angeles College-South Gate Campus – Southeast Training Hub in Healthcare Careers ($925,000)
Funding for this project will allow East Los Angeles College (ELAC) South Gate Campus to develop a comprehensive training Hub with a focus on careers in health. This project would allow ELAC to establish a curriculum, train students, obtain necessary instructional equipment, and acquire a modular classroom with laboratory capabilities where instruction can take place. The Hub will assist students with obtaining job skills to prepare them for employment in the healthcare industry and will also implement a community health and wellness campaign.
Funding for this project would allow ELAC to provide free to low-cost training for students pursuing careers in nursing, physical therapy, and other medical professions, at the college’s satellite campus in South Gate, California. ELAC’s project would also provide work experience by connecting students to internships, enhance their career development through securing apprenticeships, and aid the students in finding employment in the southeast Los Angeles community. Additionally, this project includes the development and implementation of a culturally and linguistically competent outreach plan to educate community members on improving their overall health and wellbeing.
California State University, Dominguez Hills – College of Health, Human Services and Nursing Clinical Skills Laboratory Equipment Upgrade – Carson ($700,000)
The funding will be used to upgrade the clinical laboratories utilized by the Cal State Dominguez Hills College of Health, Human Services and Nursing. Upgrades include equipment, supplies, and medical simulation technologies to provide greater laboratory instruction and hands-on experience at the College of Health, Human Services and Nursing.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor – Wilmington College Bound Program ($500,000)
This project would expand integral services for the Wilmington College Bound Program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor (BGCLAH) to further close the educational attainment gap in the low-income community of Wilmington. The funding would directly assist 1,000 high school students in the Los Angeles Harbor region with overcoming the socioeconomic barriers that interfere with their pursuit of attending college. Located in Wilmington, California, students from disadvantaged backgrounds will receive mentorship and one-on-one case management to prepare them for success with their goals of higher education. Students in the program will also participate in workshops, college tours, and other activities to aid their academic achievement.
City of Long Beach – Michelle Obama Public Library Services Expansion ($250,000)
This project will allow the Michelle Obama Public Library in North Long Beach to improve and expand its early childhood education and literacy services – providing the library with the resources needed to organize enrichment workshops, events, and other programs to contribute to the development of young children. The project will advance multilingual access to library resources by providing print and e-books in multiple languages, and creating multilingual signage and promotional materials.
BANJ Health Center Inc. – Uninsured Patient Care Program – Compton-Lynwood ($50,000)
This project will expand the reach of BANJ Health Center’s Uninsured Patient Care Program to an additional 800 uninsured residents. The requested funding would allow direct services to be provided to these new patients over a 12-month period. The primary goal of this program is to address the paramount health needs of underserved community members through two sites, located in Compton and Lynwood, California. Services provided through this program include pediatric care, as well as treatment for high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions.
Each fiscal year, which runs from October through September, Congress must pass legislation to fund the federal government and all of the vital programs it administers. The minibus package that passed today will fund the following areas of the federal government: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
This package now goes to the Senate for consideration.
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Nanette Diaz Barragán is proud to represent California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington. She serves as chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Border Security.