Cantwell Secures Essential Funds for Washington in 2022 Federal Spending Bill

March 12, 2022 GNCadm1n NW Representation Comments Off on Cantwell Secures Essential Funds for Washington in 2022 Federal Spending Bill

Transportation infrastructure, wildfire prevention, Hanford cleanup funds included in Omnibus bill, along with 40 grassroots community projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Senator Maria Cantwell announced that 40 grants for grassroots programs she supported in Washington state were included in the final version of the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus appropriations bill, sending a total of $51.7 million to Washington priorities. The bill also includes billions in nationwide investments in transportation, energy, housing, public lands and healthcare that will benefit Washingtonians. 

The House passed the Omnibus appropriations bill Wednesday, and the Senate passed it yesterday evening. It now goes to President Biden’s desk. 

The 40 specific Congressionally-directed Washington state projects funded by the bill fall into Sen. Cantwell’s key priorities: 

  • Transportation: $16.8M 
  • Affordable Housing and Community Resources: $11.3M 
  • Health Care: $7.2M 
  • Environment: $5.8M 
  • Jobs & Education: $3.7M 
  • Justice & Safety: $3M 
  • Tribal Issues: $2.4M 
  • Veterans: $1.5M 

The full list of Cantwell-supported grants can be found HERE and below, followed by highlights from national programs that will impact Washington state. The full H.R. 2471, FY 2022 Omnibus Spending Package bill text is available HERE.

Transportation ($16.8M statewide) 

  • $3 million for a new transit center in Spanaway. This will fully fund construction for Pierce Transit to build the transit center, an operator comfort station, and a small park-and-ride facility. 
  • $2.6 million for cleaner transit in Everett. The funding will allow Everett Transit to replace two diesel buses with two electric buses, including installation of charging infrastructure.  
  • $2.5 million for a new passenger terminal at Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport. This will support the design and construction of the terminal. 
  • $2.5 million for rail track expansion at the Port of Longview. The Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion (IRCE) project will build on the original two track Industrial Rail Corridor by constructing a six-track bed adjacent to the current corridor, adding two 8,500’ tracks and increasing the lengths of its existing two tracks from 7,500’ to 8,500’ to accommodate full-length unit trains and provide on-dock rail capacity. 
  • $2.5 million for traffic improvements in Vancouver. Project FIRST (Fast Tracking Improvements to Reach Strategic Targets) improvements to Vancouver’s SE 1st Street Corridor will enhance safety and provide multimodal access. 
  • $2.5 million for a new Guemes Island / Anacortes Ferry. The Guemes Ferry Replacement Project will replace a 41-year-old diesel-powered ferry with an all-electric ferry. 
  • $1 million for rail crossings at Spokane International Airport Rail-Truck Transload Facility. Funding will be used to complete the Spokane International Airport’s Transload Facility project in order to serve as a multi-modal hub supporting transportation, logistics, and advanced manufacturing businesses.  
  • $200,000 to study potential Columbia River navigation improvements. This will fund a feasibility study that would satisfy regulatory needs to permit the Army Corps of Engineers to widen and deepen the Longview Turning Basin. 

Affordable Housing and Community Resources ($11.3M statewide) 

  • $3 million to build affordable housing in Tacoma. The Hilltop Affordable Housing and BIPOC Commercial Space is a redevelopment of three parcels of land in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma to create approximately 200 units of affordable housing and acquire the commercial spaces for primarily BIPOC businesses. 
  • $3 million to renovate the Martin Luther King Community Center in East Pasco. The renovation of the Martin Luther King Community Center in East Pasco will create an ADA compliant building with improved meeting space and resources that are used by all local groups. 
  • $2 million for a facility to support those experiencing homelessness in Bellingham. Funding will be used to construct a Way Station to provide a safe facility with services to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness. 
  • $1.275 million to build a youth athletic facility in Ilwaco. The new Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center will consist of a 30,000 square foot multi-use turf fieldhouse, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, and multiple spaces dedicated to youth programming.  
  • $900,000 to benefit food-insecure families on the Olympic Peninsula. Funding will be used to expand the Port Angeles Food Bank, which supports 13 area food pantries. 
  • $576,000 to support families experiencing homelessness in Spokane. The Gonzaga Family Haven Community Programming Fund will provide supportive services and programs to families who have experienced homelessness and family separation. 
  • $500,000 for affordable housing and support to young adults in Mason County. Funding will be used to purchase and remodel a building in Shelton to provide affordable housing and supportive services to young adults in Mason County. 

Health Care ($7.2M statewide) 

  • $3.5 million for a new health care facility in Spanaway. This funding will be used to design, permit, construct and equip the new Bethel School District Community Health Care Facility, a 7,000-square-foot health and family support center to house health care and social service agencies. 
  • $2 million for life-saving emergency care in Anacortes. The Island Hospital Helipad Project will fund construction of a new helipad at Island Hospital, providing care to patients in Island and San Juan counties. 
  • $812,000 to improve health care for rural Adams County residents. This will create a new East Adams Rural Healthcare Mobile Clinic and invest in telehealth infrastructure to serve underserved and remote areas in Adams County.
  • $581,000 for King County spinal cord injury, TBI, MS, and Neurological disorder survivors. Funding will be used to modernize equipment at Pushing Boundaries’ exercise therapy rehabilitation facility. 
  • $350,000 for better health care in North Seattle. Funding will be used to renovate the Lahai Health Free Clinic in North Seattle’s Haller Lake neighborhood, where 30% of residents do not have a primary care physician. 

Environment ($5.8M statewide) 

  • $2.5 million for cleaner wastewater flowing into the Columbia River from Stevenson. Funding will be used to upgrade and expand the Stevenson Wastewater Treatment Plant, bringing the facility into compliance with Clean Water Act requirements 
  • $2 million for cleaner wastewater flowing into the Skykomish River from Sultan. The City of Sultan Wastewater Plant Upgrade will improve water quality and build better systems for processing bio-solids, meeting the needs of the growing Sultan community. 
  • $800,000 to help Clark County residents connect to sewer lines. This funding will accelerate the elimination of septic systems in one of the district service area’s lower income neighborhoods and one of the greatest areas of environmental concern, while providing additional financial assistance to homeowners in greatest need. Completion of the project will enable 72 properties to move away from their septic systems and connect to the community’s wastewater infrastructure. 
  • $500,000 to preserve Columbia Basin groundwater. Funding will be used to save the rapidly-depleting Odessa aquifer by supplying farmers with Columbia River Irrigation Project (CRP) surface water. This project will also receive $1,500,000 in other funding through the omnibus bill for a total of $2 million.  

Jobs and Education ($3.7M statewide)  

  • $1.5 million for high-tech training at Clark College. Funding will equip Clark College’s new Advance Manufacturing Center with technology and equipment to train students in computer science, robotics and AI, manufacturing, clean energy engineering, and material science careers. 
  • $750,000 to fund a biotech hub at the University of Washington-Bothell. Funding will be used to develop a biotechnology curriculum and create a Center for Biotech Training and Innovation, in partnership with the local biotech industry, to train the future biotech workforce, including those traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. 
  • $500,000 to expand STEM education on the Kitsap Peninsula. Funding will be used to train teachers and purchase equipment to bring the Engineering is Elementary curriculum to 12 elementary schools in the Central Kitsap School District. 
  • $413,000 for a new childcare center in Dayton. Funding will go to Columbia County Health System to purchase and install three manufactured classrooms plus an office and kitchen for a new Community Early Childhood Care Center.  
  • $397,000 to support low-income Asian and Pacific Islander kids in Pierce County. The Asia Pacific Cultural Center will use this funding to sustain its Promised Leaders of Tomorrow (PLOT) Youth Program, which engages and supports low-income Asian and Pacific Islander youth across three school districts in Pierce County, who are at risk of dropping out or failing out of high school. 
  • $75,000 to support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in northwest Washington. Funding will be used to expand the Best Buddies program to four new schools in northwest Washington. 
  • $55,000 to support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Spokane. Funding will be used to expand the Best Buddies program to new schools in Spokane. 

Justice & Safety ($3.0M statewide) 

  • $1.5 million for City of Vancouver Police to get body-worn and in-car cameras. Funding will be used for the City of Vancouver’s Police Camera Program to purchase body-worn cameras and dash cameras for officers and patrol vehicles. 
  • $915,000 for better community/police responses to Bellevue residents in crisis. Funding will be used to launch the City of Bellevue’s Community Crisis Assistance Team. 
  • $300,000 to improve safety for first responders in Whatcom County. Funding will be used to complete and fully fund Whatcom County’s outdated Public Radio System, which will benefit and improve safety for law enforcement, first responders, and the community. 
  • $292,000 to improve police response for Longview residents struggling with mental health issues. Funding will allow the Longview Police Department to hire two mental health professionals as part of their Community Policing Crisis Intervention Team (CPCIT) program. 

Tribal Issues ($2.4M statewide)  

  • $1.2 million to find a location for a new Tribal village on the Columbia River. Funding will extend the Army Corps of Engineers’ effort to identify a suitable location near the Dalles Lock and Dam to construct a tribal village for members of the four Columbia River Treaty Tribes: The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation; the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; and the Nez Perce Tribe. 
  • $950,000 to improve irrigation on the Yakama Reservation. The Wapato Irrigation Project (WIP) is a Tribal Irrigation Project that currently has over $100 million in deferred maintenance. Due to ongoing lack of maintenance, the project suffers from irregular deliveries and occasional system failures. This project will also receive $1,040,000 in other funding for a total of $1.99 million.  
  • $210,000 to provide better Internet access for the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe. Funding will be used to expand the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe’s Recreation Center to provide a computer lab with Internet capability.  

Veterans ($1.5M statewide)

  • $1 million to build affordable housing for veterans in Raymond. Funding will be used to renovate the American Legion Building into the Veteran Housing and Resource Center, with affordable housing units and an area for on-site supportive services to low-income veterans in need. 
  •  $500,000 to support disabled veterans in Thurston County. Funding will be used to reduce barriers and enhance access for disabled veterans seeking services at the Lacey Veterans Service Hub (LVSH). LVSH provides a single-entry point service hub for area veterans seeking employment, education, housing, health and nutrition, benefit, finance, and counseling services by working with more than 70 partners and providers. 

Funding for National Priorities  

The bill also includes the following nationwide programs and investments that will impact Washington state: 

Violence Against Women Act 

The bill reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act and provides $575 million for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) prevention and prosecution programs – $486.5 million above FY2021. The legislation: 

  • Strengthens rape prevention and education efforts and services and protections for young survivors 
  • Expands and authorizes programs to ensure that VAWA provides access to survivors in rural areas, survivors requiring culturally specific services, LGBT survivors, and survivors who seek voluntary, community-based restorative practice services 
  • Provides support for legal services funding and trauma-informed law enforcement responses 
  • Improves the response to sexual violence, including grants to promote the training of sexual assault forensic examiners 
  • Expands special criminal jurisdiction by tribal courts to cover non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse co-occurring with domestic violence, stalking, sex trafficking and assaults on tribal law enforcement officers on tribal lands 

“We are righting the wrong of letting the Violence Against Women Act lapse,” Cantwell said when this bill was introduced.“This bipartisan bill strengthens protections for women and children by providing more resources for survivors no matter where they live, where they work or who they are victimized by. This bill is also a major step forward in protecting our Tribal communities. Indigenous women and children will be better protected against sexual assault, child abuse, stalking and sex trafficking that occurs on Tribal lands.”  

Defense 

  • PFOS/PFOA cleanup — $210 million 
    • Includes $15 million for the study and assessment of health implications of toxic PFOS/PFOA contamination in drinking water. Senator Cantwell has led efforts in Congress to address water contamination due to PFAS, and she has repeatedly introduced bipartisan legislation to hold federal agencies accountable for addressing PFAS contamination at military bases across the country. 
  • Dental Clinic at Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor — $57 million 
  • National Guard Air Support Operations Group Complex at Camp Murray — $27 million 

Energy & Water Development  

  • Hanford — $2.595 billion (increase of $127.5 million) 
    • Richland Operations Office – $950 million 
    • Office of River Protection – $1.645 billion 
    • Hanford/National Lab DOE PILT Funding is MAINTAINED 
      • Senator Cantwell is a strong defender of the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding, which provides payments to local governments to offset the cost of hosting non-taxable federal land within their borders. The Department of Energy had proposed ending these payments for FY 2022. Senator Cantwell pressed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on the issue in June, and the funding has been reinstated. 
  • DOE Office of Electricity — $227 million, including $47 million for the Grid Storage Launch Pad at PNNL. Cantwell has constantly advocated to promote Washington state and PNNL’s leadership in energy storage, and has long supported PNNL’s energy storage R&D efforts. 
  • Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project — $26.45 million 
    • Yakima Project Administration — $8.93 million 
    • Cantwell championed and passed the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Phase III Act in 2019, which authorized an integrated and collaborative approach to addressing water challenges in the Yakima River Basin.  
  • Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program — $1.5 million (in addition to a successful $500,000 Congressionally Directed Spending request) 

Interior & Environment  

  • Puget Sound Geographic Program — $34.25 million, an increase of $500,000 from the FY21 level of $33.75 million, for EPA’s program that provides grant funding to fund Puget Sound habitat restoration projects. 
  • Wildfire Management  
    • US Forest Service Wildfire Management: The bill provides $2.005 billion for USFS Wildland Fire Management, including: 
      • $172 million for preparedness 
      • $1.011 billion for suppression operations 
      • $822 million for salaries and expenses 
      • USFS has a $2.120 billion operations reserve fund for suppression activities 
      • Department of the Interior Wildfire Management: The bill provides $1.026 billion for Department of Interior Wildland Fire Management, combined with $330 million for the Wildfire Suppression Operations reserve fund.?  
      • $187.4 million for Hazardous Fuels, including programs that reduce wildfire risk, address deficiencies in wood product infrastructure, conduct monitoring and evaluation research of forest areas, and more 
  • Land and Water Conservation Fund: The bill allocates the full $1.9 billion provided by Great American Outdoors Act for deferred maintenance programs at the National Park Service and other agencies and allocates more than $900 million in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which Senator Cantwell led the fight to pass. The LWCF allocation includes $330 million for state grants for conservation, outdoor recreation legacy, and grants administration – including funds supporting the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office process for assisting local government park establishment and development. 
    • Federal Agency LWCF Acquisition List: 
      • $2.437 million – Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Land Acquisitions 
  • Legacy Restoration Fund: The bill allocates the full amount to the Legacy Restoration Fund as required by the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act for the purpose of restoring our public lands. 
    • $7.03 million Rehabilitation of Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge at Olympic National Park 
    • $565,000 deferred maintenance of Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area 
    • $1.075 million deferred maintenance at Colville National Forest 
    • $2,290 million deferred maintenance at Gifford Pinchot National Forest 
    • $3.123 million deferred maintenance at Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest 
    • $780,000 deferred maintenance at Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest 
    • $200,000 deferred maintenance at Olympic National Forest 
    • $8.767 million deferred maintenance at roads, trails, bridges throughout combined (and overlapping) Oregon and Washington National Forests for identified priority projects 
  • U.S. Forest Service Legacy Roads & Trails — $5 million for Legacy Roads & Trails.  

Transportation 

  • RAISE Grant Program – $775 million for the RAISE grant program. Combined with the $1.5 billion provided in the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the total funding available for FY 2022 will be $2.275 billion, a 125% increase from FY 2021.  
    • The RAISE program provides funding for grants to State and local entities on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local/regional impact. The program includes a 50/50 urban/rural split and has a 20 percent set-aside for projects in the planning phase. Projects eligible under RAISE include—a highway or bridge project eligible for assistance; a public transportation project a passenger rail or freight rail transportation project; a port infrastructure investment project, including inland port infrastructure and a land port-of-entry; the surface transportation components of certain eligible airport projects; a project for investment in a surface transportation facility located on Tribal land, a project to replace or rehabilitate a culvert or prevent stormwater runoff for the purpose of improving habitat for aquatic species; and any other surface transportation infrastructure project that the Secretary considers to be necessary to advance the goal of the program. 
  • CRISI – $505 million for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program, which funds rail infrastructure improvements. This is in addition to the $1 billion provided for the program in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Combined, there will be $1.5 billion available for the program, a 300% increase from FY 2021. 
  • Amtrak – $2.3 billion for Amtrak, $331 million (or 16%) above fiscal year 2021 for operations expenses. This is in addition to the $4.4 billion provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Amtrak for “state of good repair” capital projects.