Today, Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) voted to fund federal agencies and priorities related to Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. The bill invests in San Diego priorities that make our communities safer, protect our natural resources and wildlife, and support our strategic role in the national defense.

“Today, we built on last week’s investments to address the ongoing environmental crisis at our border caused by sewage spills from the Tijuana River. This bill provides $30 million for the US-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program (BWIP)–double last year’s funding amount–which will fund projects to improve public health and the environment. It also funds programs to keep San Diegans safe, assist veterans, promote housing initiatives, and protect our land and water,” said Rep. Peters.

The House also approved an amendment that Rep. Peters offered with Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) to highlight the need for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address airplane and helicopter noise in communities across the country.

The bill also funds many other San Diego priorities, many of which Rep. Peters advocated to include:

• Veterans and Military Construction:
• $40 million for Housing and Urban Development’s HUD-VASH vouchers
• $1.9 billion for VA homeless assistance programs, including $380 million for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program
• $222 million for suicide prevention and outreach to veterans
• $582 million for gender-specific care for women veterans
• $20 million for San Diego VA for Strategic Capital Investment and Seismic Corrections 
• $266 million in military construction spending in San Diego County:
  • $86.8 million to begin construction of the Navy V-22 Hangar in Coronado
  • $59.3 million to bolster work replacing Navy Pier 8
    • Housing and Homelessness:
• $100 million for Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, a Rep. Peters-led effort
• $2.8 billion for homeless assistance grants, an increase of $164 million over Fiscal Year 2019 numbers, and includes:
  • $2.4 billion for the Continuum of Care program, which is aimed at ending homelessness by funding nonprofits and state and local governments
  • $290 million for Emergency Solutions Grants, which helps families and individuals experiencing homelessness or a housing crisis to be quickly placed in permanent housing

• National and Local Security:
  • $125 million for STOP School Violence funding to create anonymous reporting of violence, increase school security, and develop violence prevention training
  • $80 million for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which prevents firearms from being acquired by dangerous people
  • $530 million for Byrne-JAG and $323 million for COPS program, which funds community policing
  • $2.8 million for Crime Victims Fund and Victims of Crime Act
• Climate, Environment, and Animals:
  • $61.625 million for habitat conservation and restoration
  • Directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study current plans and programs that help farmers mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and to additionally identify where these programs can be expanded
  • Urges the Secretary of Agriculture to create incentives for farmers to capture carbon
    • $1.8 billion for wastewater treatment facilities, an increase of nearly one-third over Fiscal Year 2019 levels
    • $70 million in grants for drinking water contaminants like lead
    • $1.2 billion for Superfund site cleanups, which are some of the most toxic and contaminated sites of hazardous waste in the United States
    • $289 million for Endangered Species Act enforcement, which is an increase of $37 million over Fiscal Year 2019 levels
    • $10 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
    • $5.21 billion for Wildland Fire Management for firefighting strategy—including using new technologies to improve wildfire forecasts—and wildfire prevention and mitigation
• $523.9 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is an increase of $85 million from Fiscal Year 19, and $491 million above the president’s request
• Prohibits oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• $19 million for the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system, and an additional $6.7 million to expand and maintain the system’s infrastructure
  • Transportation:
• $17.7 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, including an increase in funding for aviation safety programs following this year’s Boeing 737 MAX concerns
  • Other important priorities:
• Pays certain federal contractors for their work during the 35-day partial government shutdown
• $8.45 billion for the Census, which is to be conducted in 2020
• $8.64 billion for the National Science Foundation, which is an increase of $561 million from Fiscal Year 2019 levels
• $2.1 billion for international food assistance programs