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December 22, 2020

Schiff Secures Funding for Local Priorities in Omnibus Spending Bill

Funding Bill Includes Investment in Housing Affordability, Public Health Initiatives, and Space Exploration

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) released a statement following House passage of an omnibus appropriations bill with funding for 2021 local priorities, including affordable housing, public health, and space exploration:

“As we come to the end of an unprecedented year of challenges, changes and rancor, last night the Congress passed our annual major spending bill, which includes many local and national priorities of mine, including funding for housing, homelessness, healthcare, and more,” said Rep. Schiff. “I am grateful that the House prioritized addressing the housing and homelessness crisis, which has only been exacerbated by COVID-19, by allocating more than $40 million for a new program of targeted vouchers to reduce homelessness.”

“American leadership in space exploration has been a key driver of our economic growth in the past century, including the development of many of our high-tech and emerging industries,” Schiff continued. “Answering the big questions about our planet and exploring the cosmos means investing today in the missions that will provide us with better understanding of the earth, and take robotic probes to Mars, the moons of Jupiter, and beyond, and I’m so proud to represent the talented team at Jet Propulsion Labs who lead the way in so much of that work. I’m pleased that the Appropriations legislation passed this week will prioritize these important investments, which will benefit the Southern California economy as well as the nation and humankind.”

“Although we are still in the midst of a deadly pandemic, it is also critical that we invest now in the study of emerging infectious disease threats, so our nation is better prepared for future public health crises. This bill also creates a Chronic Disease Education and Awareness Program at the CDC, which will fund important research into the diseases that affect millions of Americans every day.”

Highlights of the appropriations bill include funding for the following Schiff priorities:

  • $43.4 million for a new program of targeted incremental vouchers to reduce homelessness.
  • $11 million for National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Centers to maintain a sustainable infrastructure and culture of readiness for managing suspected and confirmed emerging special pathogen incidents across U.S. public health and health care delivery systems.
  • $1.5 million to establish a new Chronic Disease Education and Awareness Program at Center for Disease Control, which utilizes a competitive grant process to strengthen the science base for prevention, education, and public health awareness for a variety of chronic diseases, such as lymphatic diseases and sleep disorders, that don’t currently have dedicated resources.
  • Providing $570 million for the Mars Exploration Program to further development of a mission to return samples from Mars’ surface to Earth, targeted for 2026.
  • Provides continued funding for the Europa Clipper Mission, to launch a spacecraft into the orbit of Jupiter’s moon Europa by 2023, and maintains flexibility for NASA to choose the most appropriate launch vehicle for the spacecraft.
  • Providing $2 billion in funding for Earth Science, to fuel the critical work of studying planet Earth and its inhabitants, including critical research and monitoring of the changing climate. 

The full text of the bill can be viewed here.

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