Issued the following announcement on Dec. 17.
Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-03) highlighted numerous priorities of Illinois’ Third Congressional District and other communities across the country in H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158, two “minibus” packages of the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bills that passed the House on Tuesday. The appropriations bills are expected to be approved in the Senate and signed by President Trump later this week.
“Families in the Third District and across Illinois understand the need to increase investments in our communities to improve quality of life,” said Rep. Lipinski. “I’m pleased I was able to take an active role in these efforts to grow our economy, protect our communities and environment, repair our transportation and infrastructure, and strengthen health care.”
H.R. 1865 totals $540.4 billion and consists of FY2020 appropriations bills that fund federal agencies including the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Farm Credit Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration.
H.R. 1158 totals $860.3 billion and consists of FY2020 appropriations bills that fund federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, Justice, Treasury, the Judiciary, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Federal appropriations highlights impacting Illinois’s 3rd Congressional District include:
1. A provision directing the federal government to study on-time performance in the Chicagoland region to identify ways to minimize delays for Metra commuters and improve commuter rail. Congressman Lipinski authored the provision.
2. Dedicated funding to enhance climate change research, including nearly $2 billion for NASA to better monitor climate change and $169.5 million for NOAA to support the Climate Change Research Program.
3. $25 million for gun violence research, including crime prevention. Congressman Lipinski co-signed a letter to Appropriations Committee requesting the funding, which was granted for the first time in 25 years.
- An increase of $1.1 billion for early childhood programs including Preschool Development Grants ($275 million), Head Start ($10.6 billion), and the Child Care and Development Block Grant ($5.8 billion).
6. Language directing the Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize the Brandon Road project to prevent the invasive Asian Carp species from spreading. Congressman Lipinski co-signed a letter to Appropriations Committee urging the U.S. Corps of Engineers to expedite the project.
7. A record funding level of $41.7 billion for the National Institutes of Health, including $3.8 billion for substance abuse treatment to help address the opioid epidemic, and $2.8 billion for Alzheimer’s research. Congressman Lipinski co-signed a letter to Appropriations Committee requesting the funding.
8. A provision requiring the Federal Railroad Administration to work in conjunction with state and local agencies, law enforcement, railroads, and others to study and make recommendations to reduce blocked rail crossings. Congressman Lipinski authored the provision.
9. Increased funding at Argonne National Laboratory to keep the facility a world leader in cutting edge research, including $170 million for the Advanced Photon Source upgrade and $150 million for the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, which will be home to Aurora, the first exascale supercomputer. Congressman Lipinski co-led a letter with Congressmen Foster and Quigley to the Appropriations Committee requesting $170 million for the Advanced Photon Source Upgrade.
10. Provisions to end abusive tricks by drug companies to prevent generics from entering the market. This will help lower prescription drug costs by facilitating greater competition.
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