Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is announcing major wins for New York State that she helped secure in the recently-passed $1.7 trillion FY2023 spending package. As part of this funding, Senator Gillibrand fought for 172 New York-based projects, totaling over $269 million in congressionally directed spending spanning the state of New York.
“The $1.7 trillion end-of-year spending package includes transformational provisions that will expose young people to educational opportunities and job training, help families access better health care and SNAP benefits, create good-paying jobs across the state, provide nutritional services for older adults, and help ensure every person in New York can keep the heat on this winter. The final bill also takes important steps to protect women and address the ongoing maternal mortality crisis in the United States. This congressional funding will bring urgent relief to New Yorkers and make long-term investments that will be felt for years to come.” –Senator Gillibrand
The Into the Light for Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Act, which expands grants to states to address maternal mental health (MMH) and substance use disorders (SUD) and establishes and funds a national dedicated MMH hotline providing 24/7 voice and text services.
Older Adult Nutrition programs received $1.067 billion, an increase of $100 million. These programs deliver critical nutrition services to older adults.
Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) received $47 million, an increase of $2 million. AHECs serve over 85% of all counties nationally and diversify the health workforce by recruiting diverse youth to health care careers, especially in rural and underserved communities.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) received $305 million to provide critical funding to faith-based and other nonprofit institutions at risk of terror attacks, allowing them to improve security and conduct emergency preparedness exercises.
The Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) received $43 million to combat growing cyber threats to state and local entities, such as with hospital ransomware or the Suffolk County cyberattack. This also includes election security support and additional Albert sensors to monitor state and local networks, as well as and additional cybersecurity services.
The Emergency Food & Shelter Program (EFSP) received $130 million to support mass shelters and food for those facing severe economic crises. The final bill also includes $785 million for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Shelter and Services Program to be funded through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSP-H).
EBT Benefit Fraud (SNAP Skimming) Prevention provision requires Secretary Vilsack to investigate and develop methods to prevent fraud, improve security measures, and provide replacement of stolen SNAP benefits.
Summer Meals for Children provisions update the summer food service program to permanently allow states to provide non-congregate meals and summer EBT benefits nationwide to eligible children as other options. Non-congregate meals, such as grab-and-go or home delivery, would be provided in rural areas to eligible children, and summer EBT benefits would be capped at $40 per child per month. This provision is fully offset.
DOL’s YouthBuild program received $105 million, an increase of nearly $6 million from FY2022. YouthBuild is a community-based pre-apprenticeship program that provides job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth ages 16-24 who have previously dropped out of high school.
Ben Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal: The omnibus awards a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Ferencz. Ferencz was raised in NYC and served in the Army during WWII before serving as Chief Prosecutor for the United States in the Einsatzgruppen Case, in which commanders of SS mobile death squads faced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity