Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, helped advance out of committee a series of packages that address water quality in Lewistown and other rural communities, would help lower gas prices and increase access to education.

The packages now head to the House Floor for a full vote.

“I’ve always said, God gave us two ears and one mouth, and we should use them proportionately. That’s why I’m proud that this series of funding packages reflects our communities’ needs and will bring millions in federal dollars to improve quality of life for Illinoisans,” said Congresswoman Bustos, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. “These bills will improve water quality, help lower gas prices, help control the invasive Asian Carp population, and so much more. I look forward to passing these bills in the House and bringing these resources home.”

Cheri Bustos

Congresswoman Bustos secured the following priorities in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies package:

• $600,000 for the Lewistown Municipal Water Supply: $600,000 for the Lewistown Municipal Water Supply to address water system concerns, including ground tank water storage and plumbing. Lewistown has an aging water system, with water mains and sewer line pipes nearing 150 years old – well exceeding the average service life of 50 years. Addressing the needs of this water system will reduce contamination and prevent disease.
• $26 Million for the Abatement of Invasive Asian Carp: A total of $26 million for the control, management, and prevention of Asian carp, an invasive species commonly found in the Mississippi River, with $900,000 to support the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission to help galvanize the states to work together and share resources on interjurisdictional fisheries issues.

• $27 Million to Improve Water Quality in Rural Communities: The package includes $27 million in funds for a competitive grant program aimed at improving water quality in rural areas. The grant program is open to qualified non-profit organizations, and will provide technical assistance for improved water quality, safe drinking water, adequate wastewater to small systems or individual private well owners.

• Support for Low-Carbon Fuels and E15: The package includes support for the Environmental Protection Agency to explore a long-term or permanent solution to allow the sale of E15 year-round.

Congresswoman Bustos also secured the following priorities in the Commerce, Justice and Science package:

• $8.4 billion for expenses and salaries for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), to help alleviate dangerous understaffing issues at locations such as Thomson.
• Support for BOP to work with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to provide bonuses, such as a 25% special pay incentive for understaffed prisons.
• Support for BOP to continue working with OPM on direct hire authority for facilities in which 10 percent or more of the positions are vacant.
• Support for the National Science Foundation to award grants for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater research and to bolster national testing capacity through programs, including for rural areas without centralized wastewater treatment services surveillance.

Additional Bustos priorities included in the State and Foreign Operations package were:

• $2.5 million for the Increase & Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) program, to advance higher education.
• $773 million for Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs.
• $8.095 billion for the Migration & Refugee Assistance, U.S. Emergency Refugee & Migration Assistance programs.
• Funding for the International Disaster Assistance program, including an additional $1.2 billion above fiscal year 2022.
• $160 million for nutrition programs and $890 million for Maternal and Child Health programs.
• $5 million for IED removal in Afghanistan.
• $985 million for education programs.
• $2.8 billion for programs supporting democracy.
•  $310 million for the National Endowment for Democracy.
•  $430.5 million for the Peace Corps.
• Support for the development of an assistance strategy to address humanitarian needs in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and $2 million for demining in the region.
• Increases humanitarian and development assistance to help the world’s most vulnerable meet urgent needs, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global rise of food and fuel prices.
• Advances gender equity and equality by increasing funding for programs that support women and girls, family planning and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
• Strengthens the global public health infrastructure to continue combating the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent future pandemics.

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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.