Passage of First 2024 Appropriations Package, Biden Signs, Shutdown Averted, Lujan Statement

United States President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a spending bill that averted a partial government shutdown, the White House said in a statement. The President acted after the U.S. Senate on Friday approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire.

New Mexico Senator Lujan issued the following press release concerning this budget passage.

U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined the U.S. Senate in passing the minibus appropriations package for fiscal year 2024 that protects nutrition assistance for millions of women and kids, supports the economy, keeps passengers safe, protects local food supply, and delivers critical funding to veterans and firefighters.

The package also includes several provisions secured by Luján including funding for Indian Health Services, the Office on Violence Against Women, New Mexico’s National Labs, community health centers, and historic funding for housing assistance on Tribal Lands. In addition, the package delivers $62,796,064 for 74 projects across New Mexico, including investments in public safety, agriculture, behavioral health services, affordable housing, military installations, and acequia and water infrastructure upgrades.

“Today, I was proud to vote for this first package of appropriations bills that will deliver critical investments to every corner in New Mexico, addressing our community needs,” said Senator Luján. “For New Mexico, I was proud to secure funding that protects the health and safety of Tribal communities, invests in our research and development capabilities, and expands the reach of our community health centers. This legislation also features funding to protect nutrition access for women and their babies, support our agriculture industry, increase affordable housing, and deliver additional investments in public safety.”

" We next turn to the next batch of appropriations bills, I’m hopeful that Congress can work together to meet the next funding deadline and avoid the threat of another shutdown.”

Senator Luján secured the following provisions specific to New Mexico:

• Advance Funding for Indian Health Services (IHS): The bill provides $6.96 billion for IHS—an increase of $3.6 million over fiscal year 2023. The bill also includes Luján’s priority for an advance appropriation for fiscal year 2025 of $5.19 billion to ensure budget certainty for a health care system that provides health services to 2.5 million people across Indian Country. This advance appropriation will provide the funding IHS needs to provide essential health services to patients in the following fiscal year.
• VAWA: The bill contains $713 million, the highest funding level ever, for grants provided by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). This represents an increase of $13 million above fiscal year 2023. Funding is provided for multiple competitive and formula grant programs that support training for police officers and prosecutors, state domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, rape prevention programs, lethality assessment and homicide reduction initiatives, domestic violence hotlines, women’s shelters, transitional housing, and rural support services.
• Crime Victims Fund: The bill releases $1.35 billion from the CVF, providing $153 million above the President’s budget request. Of this amount, $67.65 million is designated for efforts to assist Tribal victims.
• Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation (FESI): In report language, Luján secured $3,500,000 for the creation of a non-governmental FESI at DOE, which includes $1,500,000 to establish the Foundation and $2,000,000 to initially carry out its activities. This mirrors Senate report language and was one of Luján’s priorities authorized in the CHIPS & Science Act.
• Increased Funding for DOE Office of Science: The bill provides $8.24 billion in new directed funding—$140 million over fiscal year 2023—for the Office of Science, the nation’s largest sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead agency for conducting the fundamental research needed to drive the clean energy transition.
• Community Health Centers: Under this agreement, community health centers will be receiving the largest increase in mandatory funding in a decade, equivalent to a rate of $4.4 billion through the end of the year. Community health centers are the backbone of our primary care system providing high quality care to over 31 million Americans.
• Historic Funding Levels for Housing Assistance for Tribes: The bill provides a record $1.344 billion for the Native American Housing Block Grant program. The bill will make significant progress in addressing the dire housing needs of Indian Country, where residents are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty and nearly three times more likely to live in overcrowded conditions compared to other U.S. households. Luján sent a letter with Sen. Heinrich to Chair Schatz advocating for the highest possible funding levels for Tribal housing programs last month.
• Prohibition on Drilling in Chaco Canyon: The report maintains the prohibition on drilling in Chaco Canyon until the completion of the cultural resources investigation required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260).
• Funding for Environmental Cleanup at Los Alamos: The bill funds cleanup at LANL at $273 million, matching the President’s request.
• Increased Funding for WIPP: The bill funds WIPP at $369 million—an increase of $16 million over the FY23 appropriation and matching the President’s FY24 request.
• Increased Funding for NTSB: The bill funds the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at $140 million, an increase of over $10 million from FY23. This aligns with a Luján amendment to reauthorize the NTSB in the FAA Reauthorization package that passed through the Senate Commerce Committee.

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