Scott Votes for Appropriations Funding Package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, voted to pass the government funding appropriations package for FY 2023. This legislation includes funds to invest in jobs, education, the environment, shipbuilding, national security, as well as a number of important community projects in Hampton Roads.

“This appropriations package makes critical investments in our communities and will be a big boost for Hampton Roads,” said Congressman Scott. “This bill will make important increased investments in the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, which I just helped lead the re-authorization of with bipartisan legislation. The funding package also includes investments in our national defense and shipbuilding and will provide necessary aid to Ukraine, as well as providing critical funds to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Additionally, I was proud to have secured over $35.6 million in funding for community projects across Virginia’s third congressional district that will improve the quality of life for many residents in Hampton Roads.”  

The legislation includes funding for the following community projects secured by Congressman Scott that will directly benefit Virginia’s Third Congressional District: 

• $1,594,355 for An Achievable Dream, Newport News, supplemental recovery supports
• $11,250,000 for the removal of toxic sediments at Money Point, Chesapeake
• $1,000,000 for mental health programming at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, 
• $3,000,000 for the City of Norfolk LED Streetlight Upgrades
• $3,000,000 for the Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Community Center Aquatic Facility, Chesapeake
• $2,500,000 for the City of Franklin to reconstruct the Armory to serve as a community center
• $760,000 for the Gun Violence and Violent Crime Reduction Initiative in Newport News
• $4,600,000 for the Hampton Gun Violence Intervention Program
• $850,000 for the Hampton Roads Workforce Council Training System
• $2,200,000 for Hampton University’s Workforce Development and Allied Health Services Program
• $807,137 for the Portsmouth Community Health Center for a Traveling Vehicle for Good Dental Health
• $677,000 for the Soundscapes to expand access to arts education to more students
• $687,680 for the STEMConnect: NASA STEM Literacy & Community Enrichment at the Virginia Air and Space Center
• $750,000 for the Tyler's Beach Harbor/Marina Facility Improvements in Isle of Wight
• $2,000,000 for infrastructure improvements for the YMCA of the Virginia Peninsulas

For full descriptions and amounts requested from these projects, please click HERE. 

As Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman Scott celebrated provisions of the omnibus that will improve the lives of students, workers, and families.

“I am particularly pleased the package makes sizable investments in early childhood through post-secondary education,” noted Congressman Scott. “The bill seeks to improve access to early learning and child care programs by increasing funding for Head Start programs and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Additionally, the package includes an $850 million increase in funding for Title I schools to help address long-standing inequities in education, and permanently repeals a law that restricts the use of federal funds to promote school integration. And finally, by raising the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 and increasing investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions, more students will be able to reap the benefits of a college degree.”

“We were also able to take steps to address child hunger,” continued Congressman Scott. “Importantly, the bill includes a provision from the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, that permanently authorizes the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) program, which will help 29 million children access healthy meals throughout the summer. Although this proposal falls far short of the comprehensive reauthorization that America’s children and families deserve, I am grateful we will be able to make some progress toward our ultimate goal of eliminating child hunger. Also, of note, for the first time in more than a decade, we were able to secure an increase in funding for the National Labor Relations Board, which helps defend workers’ rights to organize and bargain for higher pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions.  Although this increase is not nearly enough to fully recover and scale back from the previous decade of flat funding, it staves off layoffs and permits the NLRB to continue its important work. Moreover, the omnibus includes a notable increase in funding for our nation’s workforce development programs, such as Registered Apprenticeships. These types of investments are not only good for workers, but also employers and our economy.”

“Furthermore, the omnibus includes proposals to protect the health and well-being of pregnant workers and working mothers,” concluded Congressman Scott. “The first is the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act, which ensures mothers have the privacy and time to pump at work. And the second is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which will ensure pregnant workers have a clear pathway to receiving reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Unfortunately, the Senate incorporated a religious entity exemption from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to PWFA that I strongly oppose. My concern is this language may be interpreted as allowing religious employers to justify other discriminatory actions against pregnant workers beyond denying them accommodations. And, finally, this package includes the SECURE 2.0 Act, which incorporates provisionsthat the House passed and our Committee approved.  These provisions make several sensible improvements to our nation’s retirement system and will help more Americans prepare for and achieve the secure retirement they deserve.”

Further information on the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations Act can be found HERE. 

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