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Yesterday, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar voted to make historic investments in jobs, opportunities, and El Paso’s hardworking families with H.R. 4502, a package to fund the federal government for the 2022 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 up El Paso and communities across the country for future success. 

“How we spend our tax dollars is a reflection of our nation’s principles and priorities,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “This funding package is centered on El Pasoans’ needs, investing our tax dollars in what matters most: our families, workers, and community. From colonia infrastructure, to early education to strengthening our public health to creating new clean energy jobs, this crucial legislation makes key investments in vital lifelines for so many. I look forward to helping El Paso take full advantage of everything this legislation will deliver.”

The legislation includes several amendments offered by Congresswoman Escobar and incorporates funding for six community projects:

Amount: $1.2 million
Sponsor: El Paso County Hospital District/University Medical Center of El Paso
Project: UMC Robotics Expansion

Amount: $925,000
Sponsor: Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, Inc.
Project: La Fe FQHC Technology Upgrade

Amount: $2.8 million
Sponsor: County of El Paso
Project: Cotton Valley Connect by Digital El Paso

Amount: $1 million
Sponsor: El Paso Center for Children, Inc.
Project: Casitas Community Project

Amount: $1 million
Sponsor: City of El Paso
Project: Paso del Norte Trail 

Amount: $1.1 million
Sponsor: County of El Paso
Project: Connecting Communities: Upper Valley First-Time Water & Wastewater Projects

For the 2022 fiscal year, the House of Representatives bundled seven government funding bills into a single “minibus” package. In this essential legislation, House Democrats have 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.
• 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.

El Pasoans will benefit from the new federal dollars included in this historic package. Under this new funding package, Texas’ 16^th Congressional District will receive an additional:

• $369,000 in new funding to support local job training programs for adults and youth
• $69.3 million in new funding for public schools supporting children at risk of being left behind
• $71.5 million in new funding to strengthen veterans’ health care programs

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.