Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, helped pass a major funding package for Fiscal Year 2022. Congresswoman Bustos secured significant local wins – including more than $55.65 million for local projects in Peoria, Rockford, the Quad-Cities, Galesburg, East Dubuque, Freeport and Morrison. This package will be voted on by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden in the coming days.

The package also includes $13.6 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance to support the people of Ukraine, a 2.7 percent raise for military servicemembers, a reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act, $15 billion to continue supporting coronavirus pandemic response efforts, and $1.45 billion in additional support for the southern border.

“More than $55 million in taxpayer dollars will be invested back in our communities throughout Northwest and Central Illinois to support critical local projects,” said Congresswoman Bustos. “Not only will these funds help us address important needs across our region, they will also spur jobs and economic growth as we rebuild local infrastructure.

Cheri Bustos of Moline is in her 4th term as Congresswoman for Illinois’ 17th District.

“This package will create jobs, help working families, promote our defense and protect our democracy. From critical funding to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, to a well-earned raise for our men and women in uniform, to the reauthorization of the historic Violence Against Women Act, to funding to help secure our southern border and resources to continue our nation’s recovery from the global pandemic, this major legislation will make sure America is building a better, brighter future.”

All of Congresswoman Bustos’ Community Project Funding Requests – 10 out of 10 – passed the full House as part of today’s package. Congresswoman Bustos also secured provisions that align with her Social Determinants Accelerator Act, Rural America Health Corps Act, Investing in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act and Crisis Care Enhancement Act, among others. Together, these provisions will help create healthier communities, recruit and retain health care professionals, bolster crisis care services, invest in workforce training and combat teacher shortages.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following Community Project Funding Requests in the Appropriations package:

• $45.1 million for new construction to start in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP): The entity receiving the funding will be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, for modernizing a lock on the Upper Mississippi River System to increase efficiency and reduce congestion.

• $4.5 million in funding for a climate resilience and biomanufacturing initiative at Peoria’s Ag Lab: To initiate new research programs to develop and utilize crops that improve the climate resilience and sustainability of food and energy production, foster new economic opportunities for rural communities and biomanufacturing industries and enhance the safety and security of the food supply.

• $1.5 million for the Morrison Institute of Technology’s Automation Annex in Morrison: The Automation Annex will house the equipment, classrooms and lab space for Morrison Tech’s Automation Process Controls Engineering Technology Program.

• $1.2 million in funding to upgrade Galesburg Sanitary District’s Wastewater Treatment Plant: This funding will clean and improve the number four digester in Galesburg for better, more efficient mixing, while adding biogas monitoring and safety equipment, and to convert the secondary digester to a primary digester.

• $1 million for the former Harrison School Demolition in Peoria: Demolishing the former Harrison School building will serve the health and safety of residents in one of Peoria’s oldest neighborhoods. The property has sat vacant and abandoned for multiple years, is a major blighting influence on the neighborhood, attracts crime and creates other health hazards.

• $750,000 for the YMCA of Rock River Valley Youth Equity Center in Rockford: The funding will be used to introduce programming focused on breaking the cycle of poverty and addressing social determinants of health by opening a local center for youth. This center will address food insecurity and anti-hunger efforts, support college & career readiness, increase child & family stability, promote healthy lifestyles and increase social responsibility.

• $500,000 in funding to jump-start Illinois Central College’s Peoria Cradle to Career Initiative (CCI): The CCI is a comprehensive community-based strategy designed to address the critical needs of children and families of Peoria, Illinois’ ZIP Code 61605, one of the most distressed communities in America. The project lays the foundation for the forthcoming program through important assessments of each family’s education, workforce training, employment, housing, healthcare and other needs to become productive and successful members of their community.

• $400,000 for the Construction of Community Center and Expansion of Library at East Dubuque District Library in East Dubuque: This funding will be used for the construction of a community center to serve the growing needs of the community, providing meeting and programming spaces for patrons, area residents, visitors, organizations, and social service agencies and their clients.

Cheri Bustos

• $400,000 in funding for small business-focused programming at Western Illinois University’s (WIU) Quad Cities campus: To expand the capacity of WIU to drive innovation and small business success. The funding will support a program to promote new business start-ups through entrepreneurship training, help existing small businesses explore new markets, and encourage small businesses to create business succession plans.

• $300,000 in funding to help establish a new outpatient behavioral health care clinic at Rosecrance in Freeport: The proposed Rosecrance outpatient clinic will provide high-quality care in a setting that is therapeutic and will support mental health and substance abuse patients.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities from the Defense Appropriations section:

• $15 million for large-scale additive manufacturing prototyping: The funding will support programs at the Rock Island Arsenal Center for Excellence for Additive and Advanced Manufacturing that prototype components such as jointless hulls of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle. The ability to manufacture combat vehicles without joints will increase both manufacturing efficiency and the ability of a vehicle to survive.

• $25 million for soft recoil artillery systems: This funding will support the work of Rock Island-based Mandus Group which tests soft recoil technology to be used on U.S. Army Humvees.

• $15 million in Expeditionary Additive Construction: This funding supports an initiative critical to the Rock Island Arsenal’s Center of Excellence.
• $10 million for the Quad-Cities Manufacturing Lab: This funding will support the lab’s development of personal protective equipment which will provide servicemembers greater, lightweight protection.

• $3.5 million for a Pilot Program for military online real estate management: To create a tool similar to popular online real estate websites, in order to market existing, unused property to the Army, other federal agencies, or private partners. This is an initiative Congresswoman Bustos helped propose.

• $5 million for environmentally friendly coatings for military equipment: This funding will support the development of coatings that prevent corrosion of military equipment and enhance longevity. Much of this work and testing takes place at the Rock Island Arsenal.

• A requirement for the Air Force to include unit performance metrics in the strategic basing decisions of future C-130J’s in the Air National Guard. This will help ensure the Peoria Air National Guard can continue to respond to future needs.

• The legislation also includes $79 million for engine upgrades and $151 million for propeller upgrades to the C-130H Aircraft.

• Support for Bradley University Research: Today’s package includes $8 million for Virtual, Augmented and Mixed (VAM) Reality Readiness. This program is a key partnership between Bradley University and University of Dayton to provide research and development on virtual reality for the Air Force.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities from the Homeland Security Appropriations section:

• Support for Families and Children: Today’s bill would direct FEMA, in the aftermath of disaster, to support families with young children by giving them priority consideration for immediate access to a shelter with a clean, safe and private non-bathroom stall, space available for expressing breast milk, sanitary drinking water, a power supply and access to a refrigerator for safe storage of food and/or expressed breastmilk. Breast pumps will also be listed as eligible items under FEMA’s Critical Needs Assistance.

• Protection Against Flooding: The bill includes $275 million for the Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program, a tool that communities use to know which areas have the highest risk of flooding.

• Equipment for Fire Departments: The legislation includes $360 million for the Assistance for Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, which funds critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel, enhance efficiencies and support community resilience. It includes an additional $360 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program, which funds fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations directly to help them increase capacity in their communities. Both programs have been utilized by fire departments in Northwest and Central Illinois.

• Upgrade Warning Systems: The bill includes $40 million for the Next Generation Warning System, which utilizes the vast network of local television and radio broadcast networks to enhance alerts and warning capabilities to serve all Americans. This funding would allow stations to upgrade their infrastructure for warning systems.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following provisions from the Labor-HHS-Education section:

• $8 million in funding to help local governments create plans to fight the social factors that harm long-term health: This funding would address factors such as health care provider shortages, food deserts, unsafe and insecure housing and other environmental factors specific to local community needs. This provision aligns with Congresswoman Bustos’ Social Determinants Accelerator Act.

• $25 million in funding for a pilot program in the National Health Service Corps: This provision will extend loan repayment for five years and provide $200,000 for providers serving in a rural area facing a health professional shortage. This aligns with Congresswoman Bustos’ Rural America Health Corps Act to help recruit and retain health care professionals to address workforce shortages and meet the needs of small towns across Northwest and Central Illinois.

• $5 million for the Department of Labor to establish an Automation Impacted Industries Pilot Program: This will help workers who are, or are likely to become, dislocated as a result of automation. This provision closely aligns with the goals of Congresswoman Bustos’ Investing in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act to ensure American workers have the skills needed to successfully navigate the transition into higher-skilled positions and in-demand industries.

• A direction for states to utilize five percent of their Mental Health Block Grant for crisis care services: This will allow states to upgrade their crisis care programs and strategies. This provision aligns with Congresswoman Bustos’ Crisis Care Enhancement Act to bolster support for services amid the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid crisis.

• $59 million in funding for Teacher Quality Partnership Grants: These grants will help combat nationwide teacher shortages. This investment marks a $7 million increase over last year’s funding levels.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities from the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies section:

• A provision to encourage USDA to re-establish the Driftless Area Landscape Conservation Initiative (DALCI) program: This program would help restore, improve and protect unique spaces in the region, including farmlands, forests, streams and prairies.

• Support for community colleges, encouraging the USDA to allow rural-serving institutions to participate in the Community Facilities program: The Community Facilities program can be leveraged by schools in our region to fund projects, like Illinois Central College’s proposal to expand their ability to demonstrate how water reclamation and anti-soil erosion practices can be implemented on farms in the region.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities from the Energy and Water Appropriations section:

• A provision to improve future missions on locks and dams in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District: Today’s package includes language that would urge better communication and a thorough reporting process on the long-term viability of both the Chicago and Rock Island Districts to ensure projects are appropriately assigned.

• $10 million for new low carbon fuels and engine technologies: This funding will support the research and development of new engine architectures that integrate low-carbon fuels like ethanol and biodiesel, including the performance of these engines on higher blends of renewable fuels – which is critical to family farmers in Northwest and Central Illinois.

• $825 million in funding for the research, development and deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies at the Department of Energy: Carbon capture is a key tool to combat the climate crisis supported by Congresswoman Bustos to utilize the wealth of resources rural America has to offer and create good-paying jobs in communities.

• $104 million for carbon dioxide removal and direct air capture: Today’s package includes funding for the recently authorized carbon dioxide removal program and direct air capture activities within the Department of Energy.

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities from the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations section:

• Support for small business succession planning to encourage the Small Business Administration to help develop guidance, training, best practices, workshops, and other resources: This will assist small business owners and entrepreneurs in establishing and executing a business succession plan. This is in line with Congresswoman Bustos’ Small Business Succession Planning Act.

• Help expediting Bureau of Prisons (BOP) retention bonuses: This will help facilities where 10 percent or more of the total available positions are vacant, in order to combat understaffing issues at sites like Thomson Prison.

• Help expediting the approval of direct hire authority for BOP facilities: This will help facilities where 10 percent or more of the total available positions are vacant, in order to combat understaffing issues at sites like Thomson Prison.

• A provision to encourage all federal agencies to purchase flags that contain 100 percent American-made materials: This is in line with Congresswoman Bustos’ All American Flag Act.

• Support for the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency: This will establish best practices for working with whistleblowers, to help protect the American people and invest in good government. This will also direct each inspector general to establish a written process outlining required procedures in this area.

The Interior, Environment and Related Programs section includes the following priorities of Congresswoman Bustos:

• A provision to encourage the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review pending applications for advanced biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

• $3.3 billion in funding for the EPA’s Brownfields Program: This will help redevelop brownfield sites to provide much-needed jobs, housing, parks, commerce and recreational opportunities.

• $25.7 million for the EPA’s Rural Water Community Technical Assistance Program: This will target small systems that are out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and to private well owners. This technical assistance is targeted to public water systems that serve communities with a population of less than 10,000. The objective of the technical assistance to well owners is to protect the quality of well water by minimizing contamination.

In the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies section, Congresswoman Bustos worked to secure:

• Support for improvements to veteran telehealth services: This support is critical to meeting the health care needs of our veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• A provision encouraging the Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) Veterans Transportation Program (VTP) to adopt on-demand shared ride service: This will increase transportation access, coverage and efficiency for veterans in rural communities.

In the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development section, Congresswoman Bustos worked to secure:

• Over $331 million for air traffic control tower replacement: This is an increase of more than $276 million in funding. This support could help repair and replace outdated air traffic control towers, such as those at the Peoria International Airport and the Chicago-Rockford International Airport.

• A provision encouraging NeighborWorks to work with community partners, like municipalities, land banks, community development organizations and nonprofits, to address the issue of abandoned and severely distressed properties, which aligns with Congresswoman Bustos’ Neighborhood Reinvestment and Revitalization Act.

• To address lead in drinking water, the Congresswoman also worked to include support for lead exposure mitigation for the public water supply, ambient air and industrial emissions.

Please leave this field empty

Free Breaking News
Alerts & Daily Digest
In Your Inbox!

Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.

Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.