Rep. Crow Advances CO-06 Priorities in House-passed Appropriations Packages

Crow led 6 letters advocating for district priorities with several included in the House-passed bill including cracking down on dark money, funding for ALS research, and support for Civil Air Patrol

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, Rep. Jason Crow highlighted numerous priorities of Colorado's sixth congressional district in H.R. 7608 and H.R. 7617, the first two "minibus" packages of the fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, which passed the House. The bills, which total $259.5 billion and $1.3 trillion respectively, consist of 10 appropriations bills, including the departments of State; Agriculture; Interior and the EPA; Veterans Affairs; Defense; Commerce, Justice, and science programs; Energy and the Army Corps of Engineers; Treasury, financial services agencies and general government accounts; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.

"As we work to address the COVID-19 pandemic, properly funding our government is more important than ever. These bills will give Colorado much needed funding for affordable housing, medical research, education programs and more," said Congressman Crow. "It is an honor to bring this federal funding home and fight for Colorado's priorities in Congress."

Crow played a key role in securing funding for Colorado priorities by urging the House Appropriations Committee to include the following items in the funding bill that passed the House.

· $50 million for gun violence research, split evenly between the CDC and the NIH.

· $47 billion for National Institutes of Health for medical research, a nearly $5.5 billion increase over the President's budget request

· A $30 million increase for REPI, the intragovernmental program to combat encroachment near military installations helping ensure our military readiness and promote conservation.

· $50 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, which provides funding to build and improve critical infrastructure in communities abutting military installations, like Aurora.

· $56.2 million for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), as requested by Colorado's CAP chapter.

· $2.85 billion for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy research at the Department of Energy.

· $6 million for Project SERV, which provides counseling and mental health resources to students and extends critical support to schools in the wake of traumatic events like school shootings, natural disasters, and the ongoing pandemic.

· Funding for critical small business programs, including $150 million for Small Business Development Centers, $20.5 million for the State Trade Expansion Program, and $24.5 million for Women's Business Centers.

· Includes Rep. Crow's bill, the End Dark Money Act, which allows the IRS to begin their rulemaking concerning political activity conducted by 501c4 social welfare organizations.

· $4 billion for BUILD grant funding, a $3 billion increase, to fund state and local infrastructure projects. Aurora received $25 million through this grant program last year, with my support.

· $500 million for improvements at airports, like DIA and Centennial Airport, marking a $100 million increase.

· An estimated $381.6 million for housing in Colorado, including $45 million for CDBG, $219 million for HOME, and $117.14 million for Section 8.

· Prohibits the Administration from:

o Funding the border wall using funds raised via civil asset forfeiture;

o Pursuing their lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act;

o Undermining Colorado's dually enacted state cannabis laws.