{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2022-12-27-pt1-PgE1360", "2022-12-27", 117, 2, null, null, "PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE SENATE AMENDMENT TO HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2617, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES...", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "ALLOTHER", "E1360", "E1361", "[{\"name\": \"Suzanne Bonamici\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"117\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"1082\"}, {\"congress\": \"117\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"2617\"}, {\"congress\": \"117\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"4373\"}]", "168 Cong. Rec. E1360", "Congressional Record, Volume 168 Issue 202 (Tuesday, December 27, 2022)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 27, 2022)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E1360-E1361]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\nPROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE SENATE AMENDMENT TO HOUSE AMENDMENT\nTO SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2617, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD\nAND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2023;\n  RELATING TO CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 4373, FURTHER\nADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND EXTENSIONS ACT, 2023; RELATING\nTO CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1082, SAMI'S LAW; AND FOR\n                             OTHER PURPOSES\n\n                                 ______\n\n                               speech of\n\n                         HON. SUZANNE BONAMICI\n\n                               of oregon\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                       Friday, December 23, 2022\n\n  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Fiscal Year\n2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.\n  One of the most basic and important responsibilities of Congress is\nto keep the government funded and operating, and it is our obligation\nto spend taxpayer money wisely. A budget is a statement of values and\npriorities, and this budget focuses on helping hardworking families get\nahead, supporting vulnerable populations at home and abroad, and\ngrowing the economy.\n  This bipartisan bill invests in affordable child care, helps to\naddress the climate crisis, increases the maximum Pell Grant award by\n$500, provides $47 billion for the National Institutes of Health to\nhelp develop treatments and cures for chronic diseases, secures funding\nfor manufacturing jobs created by the historic bipartisan Creating\nHelpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act,\nserves veterans exposed to harmful chemicals by providing $5 billion in\nmandatory funding under the Honoring our Promise to Address\nComprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, and includes nearly $45 billion in\nemergency and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The FY23 omnibus bill also\nincludes the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to\ngive pregnant workers basic accommodations like an extra bathroom break\nand stool to sit on, preventing pregnant workers from being\ndiscriminated against in the workplace.\n  This legislation includes several bills and investments I have fought\nfor this Congress. The bill establishes a permanent, nationwide Summer\nElectronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program to address food insecurity\namong children when school is out. As the Chair of Education and Labor\nCommittee's Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, I have been\nworking on needed updates to our federal child nutrition programs. This\nis an important victory that builds on the successes of the Pandemic-\nEBT program and it will help prevent summer hunger. I have also been\nfighting for increases in funding to nutrition programs for seniors\nthrough the Older Americans Act, and I am grateful that this year's\nbill responds to increasing need amid growing demand and rising costs\nby including more funding for OAA Title III nutrition programs.\n  My Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act is enacted under this\nomnibus funding bill. These provisions will create an Office of the\nRetirement Savings Lost and Found to provide workers with tools to\nlocate and manage accounts after leaving an employer. Tracking\nretirement savings accounts after leaving an employer can be extremely\ndifficult, and many people lose access completely. The Retirement\nSavings Lost and Found Act will give workers tools to access and\npreserve their hard-earned savings.\n  Economic inflation caused by increased consumer demand, global supply\nchain disruptions, and the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia\nhave shifted global markets and affected everyday costs. Higher prices\nare straining household budgets and depriving workers of the full\nbenefits of our growing economy. I am pleased that this legislation\nincludes a nearly $2 billion increase for the Child Care and\nDevelopment Block Grant program and an almost $1 billion increase for\nHead Start. These long overdue investments follow my continued calls to\nimprove the care economy for families and care workers, including in\ntwo letters I led that were signed by more than half of the Democratic\nCaucus. Additionally, this legislation will help families with rising\nenergy costs by providing $5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy\nAssistance Program and expanding who can access the services of\nCommunity Action Agencies. Although these are needed investments to\naddress housing affordability and childcare access, there is still much\nmore we need to do, including extending the powerful, enhanced Child\nTax Credit that House Democrats included in the American Rescue Plan\nand updating the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to remove barriers to\nhousing development.\n  Ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms (HABs), and are hypoxia are\nsignificant threats to coastal communities, industries, and Tribes\nacross the United States. The ocean is resilient, but we cannot afford\nto wait to take action. I am pleased that this legislation invests in\nthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Integrated\nOcean Acidification Program to expand scientific research and\nmonitoring of ocean acidification to identify risks and inform\nvulnerable communities, industries, and coastal and ocean managers of\nways to prepare. The bill also includes harmful algal bloom and hypoxia\nresearch and monitoring investments through NOAA to strengthen research\nabout environmental stressors on our ocean and coastal resources and\nexpand competitive research grants to study threats to ocean health.\nAlthough the bill does not include specific investments in blue carbon\necosystems, I will continue to advocate for natural climate solutions\nand appreciate the investments in improving the resilience of such\necosystems included in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan\nInfrastructure law.\n  The Pacific Northwest must also be ready for a potential Cascadia\nSubduction Zone earthquake and related tsunami, so I appreciate that\nthis legislation contains funding for NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers\nand for the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to help\nprepare vulnerable communities in the event of a tsunami. Additionally,\nharnessing energy from waves, currents, and tides is an exciting\nfrontier in the clean power sector, and I am pleased that this\nlegislation includes funding for the Department of Energy's Water Power\nTechnologies Office, which supports investments in hydropower, marine,\nand hydrokinetic energy technologies, including research at the Pacific\nMarine Energy Center in Oregon.\n  Education is one of the best investments our country can make. Every\nstudent in our country deserves access to a high-quality, well-rounded\neducation, and this legislation makes investments in many important\nprograms. I'm pleased that the omnibus legislation includes a more than\n$70 million for the Institute of Education Sciences and encourages the\npursuit of quick turnaround, high-reward projects to improve student\nachievement and advance education equity--language based on bipartisan\nlegislation I introduced this year. Additionally, the legislation's\n$1.38 billion investment in Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds\nAct will provide students with greater opportunities to receive an\nengaging, well-rounded education and support the development of safe,\nhealthy, welcoming learning environments. I am also grateful that this\nyear's federal budget continues the long, bipartisan recognition of the\nimportance of the arts and humanities by providing $207 million each\nfor the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National\nEndowment for the Humanities (NEH). The NEA was instrumental in\nsupporting local arts organizations during the height of the pandemic,\nand this additional funding will allow it to foster greater creativity\nand promote equity in the arts around the country.\n  Additionally, I secured more than $35 million in Community Project\nFunding for 15 projects in NW Oregon that will make our communities\nstronger and create new opportunities for families and workers.\nAddressing the climate crisis and expanding access to affordable\nhousing are top priorities in my work, and these projects reflect my\ncommitment to putting forward real solutions to address the challenges\nwe face. These projects will bolster the economy in Oregon by building\nmore affordable housing, making our roads safer and more sustainable,\nsupporting small businesses, enhancing workforce development to provide\npeople the skills needed for advanced manufacturing and a good job, and\npromoting equity in foster care:\n  Notably missing from this end-of-year package is comprehensive\nimmigration reform. Further inaction harms our communities and economy.\nDreamers, essential workers like farmworkers, educators, and nurses,\nand\n\n[[Page E1361]]\n\nmany more are stuck in our antiquated immigration system. Next year, I\nwill continue fighting to secure the dignity of immigrants in our\ncommunities.\n  I would like to thank Chair DeLauro and her staff for their tireless\nwork to negotiate this important legislation, and I look forward to\nvoting in favor.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2022-12-27-pt1-PgE1360"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.905640121549368, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}