Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) voted to pass the second government spending package for Fiscal Year 2024 which funds the remainder of the government and invests in major national and local priorities that Rep. Peters fought for. These priorities include up to $156 million to address cross-border sewage, which was announced yesterday, and $1,275,000 to evaluate and upgrade critical infrastructure sites at risk of wildfires in San Diego County. This is in addition to the $13.8 million that Rep. Peters secured for 14 local projects in the first government funding bill earlier this month.

“Today the House did the responsible thing by finally funding the government and investing in programs that make our communities healthier, safer, and stronger,” said Rep. Peters. “For San Diego, the two funding bills we passed mean getting work started to clean up water polluted by cross-border sewage, investing in housing and infrastructure, improving public transportation, and funding DNA technology to solve crimes, among many other wins.”

House Democrats were successful in removing harmful Republican policies from these bills that attempted to make abortion illegal everywhere, slash efforts to fight climate change, and threaten our national security. Instead, these final bipartisan 2024 funding bills will help keep our communities safe, fight inflation, and move America forward. Taken together, the funding for California’s 50th District and the funding increases for critical government programs will continue to grow our local economy and support our communities.

This legislation is expected to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Biden soon. A detailed summary of the bill is available here.

Other key funding wins:

Defense

The Defense Appropriations portion of the funding package includes significant support for our servicemembers, allies, and San Diego, including:

1. A 5.2% pay raise for servicemembers and a 5.4% increase to their Basic Allowance for Housing.
2. $2.5 million for San Diego-based researched Navy communications technology.
3. $33.7 billion for shipbuilding across the country, including in San Diego.
4. $1 billion more than FY 23 for climate and energy resiliency.
5. Protections for servicemembers who travel for reproductive healthcare.

Homeland Security

The Homeland Security portion of the funding package invests in smart solutions to the challenges at the border instead of wasteful spending on a border wall. These funds include:

1. $11.8 billion for the Coast Guard.
2. $495 million for increasing the number of Border Patrol Agents to 22,000.
3. $37 million for non-intrusive inspection technology and opioid detection technology.
4. $650 million for the Shelter and Services Grant Program.

Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education

The LHHS Appropriations portion of the funding package invests in the life science field that is central to San Diego’s economy, fighting the opioid crisis, and helping students get through college and apprenticeship programs. The investments include:

1. $1.5B for Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H).
2. $65M increase for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) (brings BARDA’s FY24 funding level to $26B).
3. $4.6 billion for substance use prevention and treatment activities.
4. Provides a maximum Pell Grant award of $7,395 for the 2024-2025 school year, preserving the $900 increase in the maximum award over the last 2 fiscal years.
5. $14.2 billion for the Social Security Administration.

Additional funds and measures include:

1. 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan allies that assisted the United States.
2. $55M for election security grants to states and territories.
3. $6 billion for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which Republicans attempted to cut.
4. $125 million to counter fentanyl and other synthetic drugs coming from other countries into the United States.

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