Rep. Gregory W. Meeks Votes to Pass Bipartisan Government Funding Legislation, Over $15 Million For Local Projects in New York’s 5th District
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05) voted to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, a package of six domestic funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States. The investments in the bill will help families with the cost of living, create and sustain good-paying jobs, and help people in need.
“As House Democrats continue to put people over politics, I was proud to vote for a bipartisan government funding package that invests in the programs and services that the people of New York’s 5th Congressional District rely on while addressing some of our nation’s biggest challenges,” Rep. Meeks said. “These bicameral and bipartisan negotiations demonstrate that with concerted effort Democrats and Republicans, can work together to keep the government open. Although Extreme MAGA Republicans tried to derail this process with poison pill policies, these domestic investments help Americans with the high cost of living, create good paying jobs, protect women’s rights, honor our commitments to our veterans, and confront the climate crisis.”
Rep. Meeks championed funding for 15 projects that will directly benefit New York’s 5th District residents. These include:
- $810,000 to provide equipment for Bright Future Community Inc’s. Rock Studios work with small ethnic food businesses.
- $500,000 to construct a new Broad Channel Emergency Operation Center.
- $1,500,000 for the construction of the South Asian Cultural Housing and Assisted Living Facility.
- $3,500,000 for capital improvements at the Goodrich Legacy Center, which supports youth and adult workforce development.
- $1,000,000 for Greater Allen to develop affordable housing.
- $2,750,000 for US Army Corps to support the restoration of Jamaica Bay through the ongoing Hudson-Raritan Estuary Restoration project.
- $1,000,000 for capital improvements to strengthen security for Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula (JCCRP).
- $963,000 to support the King of Kings Foundation’s Strong Families programs, which provides assistance to families in crisis.
- $975,000 for Project Lead to create a handicap accessible site Acquisition and Improvements, which provides food assistance.
- $1,466,279 for Chhaya CDC for a Multipurpose Community Center to expand direct services nearly 3,000 households.
- $100,303 for capital improvements to the Robert Couche Senior Center.
- $125,000 for the Rockaway Community Center for Youth to support youth and workforce development programs.
- $500,000 for The Shared Kitchen Accelerator and Launchpad for Entrepreneurs (SKALE) to support their small food business incubator.
- $300,000 for C.U.N.Y York College for the Wind Tunnel Lab and Power Supply Upgrade.
“I am incredibly pleased to secure $15,489,582 in Community Project Funding in this bill that I know will have a profound impact on New York’s 5th District,” Rep. Meeks said. “These investments grow our economy, making a real difference in the lives of so many people in our community. I am proud to advocate for funding that will make our community healthier, safer, and stronger.”
Democrats rejected extreme Republican cuts and policies. This first government package invests in America’s future and delivers for the American people by:
- Helping with the high cost of living, creating and sustaining tens of thousands of good paying jobs, fighting inflation, and providing full funding for key lifelines such as food assistance and more affordable housing and homeownership.
- Protecting women’s rights by blocking attempts to limit women’s access to reproductive health care, including abortion, and by increasing funding for gender-based violence prevention and prosecution programs.
- Confronting the climate crisis, fighting climate change, and ensuring America’s energy independence with robust, transformative investments in deploying clean energy technologies in communities across the country, and providing funding for cutting-edge scientific and climate-related research.
- Honoring our commitments to our veterans by ensuring they receive the care and benefits that they have earned and investing in veterans’ health care, including targeted investments that advance women's health, mental health, and homelessness assistance.
- Funds community projects: Responds directly to pressing needs in Queens and the Rockaways and districts like mine by supporting underserved areas and fostering the economic development that makes communities healthier, safer, and stronger through community projects.
This package includes the following funding bills: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.
The remaining six appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024 are expected to be released in the coming days and be voted on ahead of their expiration on March 22.
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