WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a package of six bipartisan funding bills for Fiscal Year 2024 that will help keep the government open and support Americans across the country. The package includes three provisions championed by Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), including $1,383,069 in funding for a local project in Golden to protect the area from flooding for decades to come. Additionally, the bills included Pettersen’s provisions to fund space exploration by an aerospace company in Arvada and increase the prevalence and quality of long-term recovery support for individuals with substance use disorders and associated mental health disorders.
“Today, Congress was able to come together and invest in the American people, and this cooperation allowed us to deliver big wins for Colorado,” said Pettersen. “I’m immensely proud of the provisions I championed that were included in this package, including millions to give people with substance use disorders the support they need, protect homes in Jefferson County from flooding, and keep Colorado at the leading edge of space exploration. I look forward to seeing President Biden sign this package into law and following how these projects impact people across my district.”
Pettersen’s provisions that were included in the funding package include:
$1,383,069 for the City of Golden to bolster flood prevention efforts by creating a flood attenuation facility with a park and recreation facility along Lena Gulch. This would give Golden the ability to better disperse flood water, reducing the risks and impacts of flooding on residents and to protect low and moderate-income homes. This is one of 15 local projects Pettersen secured funding for through the House of Representatives and would expand access to affordable housing, improve town centers and health care facilities, increase clean and safe drinking water, and more. Click here for more information on Pettersen’s other projects.
$17 million for the Building Communities of Recovery Grant Program (BCOR), a bipartisan bill Pettersen introduced with Representative Zach Nunn (R-IA) to bolster the existing BCOR program and significantly increase its ability to fund local community organizations or centers that champion the development, enhancement, expansion, and delivery of recovery support services. This triples the funding level for BCOR above Fiscal Year 2023 levels.
$5 million in an amendment Pettersen authored for the Air Force Research Laboratory to work with Lunar Outpost, an Arvada aerospace company, to deploy a group of rovers to the moon. These autonomous machines will survey the lunar surface for navigational and environmental research that will help future potential defense and civilian space missions.
Additionally, the six-bill appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2024 that passed today also includes the following provisions championed by Pettersen:
Provides an increase of $1 billion above 2023 funding levels for Child Care and Head Start programs. Pettersen and a group of Colorado members led a letter earlier this month to House Appropriators urging for increased funding for Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
Provides $304.5 million for non-intrusive inspection technology at Ports of Entry to interdict fentanyl and stop it from entering our borders. Pettersen joined her colleagues in calling for increased funding to expedite the deployment of this technology.
Increases funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by $25 million over 2023 funding levels. Pettersen joined her colleagues calling for robust funding for LIHEAP last year.
Blocks a harmful proposal that would have cut funding for Title 1 Grants to Local Education Agencies by $15 billion. This would have threatened funding for 224,000 teachers.
$120 million increase in funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health.
$100 million increase for Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia research.
A detailed summary of the bill is available here. Find more information about Pettersen’s community projects by clicking here.
