March 10, 2022

Casten-Introduced Legislation Heads to President Biden’s Desk, Included in Omnibus Appropriations Funding Package:

Washington DC (March 10, 2022) –Yesterday, Rep. Casten (IL-06) voted to pass historic government funding legislation. The bill's transformative investments will help working families with the cost of living, create American jobs, and support underserved communities.

Congressman Casten said, "The investments in this package address some of our nation's biggest challenges while providing much-needed support to Illinois. After many months spent advocating tirelessly for the priorities of my constituents, I am proud that the legislation President Biden will sign into law next will include my amendment to stop sexual assault on college campuses and my legislative initiatives to increase financial aid for college students, supercharge clean energy development in the Midwest, and deliver $7.9 million in Community Project Funding for Illinois' 6th district to make our community healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient. This is democracy in action."

This government funding legislation includes several policies and amendments Congressman Casten led his colleagues in helping to secure. These include provisions to:

Reauthorize the Violence Women Act to strengthen lifesaving protections and support for victims and survivors of violence and abuse, including Casten's amendment to help sexual assault victims on college campuses. Casten's amendment will ensure campus faculty have the training and resources necessary to recognize victims of sexual or domestic violence and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. After VAWA's authorization expired in 2018, the House passed a bipartisan reauthorization, but the Senate failed to take it up. It has now been eight years since VAWA was last authorized.

"Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has been a lifeline to the one in three women in the U.S. who experience domestic violence, one in five women are raped, and one in six who are victims of stalking. But it needs to be updated and renewed, and that's exactly what we've done today," said Rep. Casten. "Not only does this VAWA reauthorization make crucial updates to the landmark bill to expand protections to our LGBTQ communities, close loopholes to better protect victims from gun violence, and dramatically increase funding for programs to help children who are exposed to domestic violence in their homes, but it also includes an amendment I introduced to train campus faculty and professionals who deal with students on a daily basis so they can better meet the needs of the one in four undergraduate women who are victims of sexual assault. This is for our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our friends. But it's also for all Americans, regardless of their gender who aspire to live in a country that truly provides equal protection and equal opportunity for all."

Ensure Federal Aid for Higher Education Keeps Up with Inflation by increasing the maximum Pell grant by 6% from last year, bringing the maximum award up to $6,895 and marking the biggest increase in a decade. Earlier this year, Casten introduced the Pell Grant Sustainability Act.

Congressman Casten said, "With college tuition skyrocketing and working families' wages stagnating– all amidst record inflation– it's becoming nearly impossible for many students to pursue higher education," said Rep. Casten. "Our Pell Grant system has made major inroads to help Americans of all backgrounds earn their degrees, but this success will not be sustained if the value of these grants continues to diminish as costs rise. This long overdue increase will ensure these grants continue to open doors to education."

Combat climate change, create clean energy jobs, and lower energy costs:

$510 million for industrial decarbonization technology R&D, including implementation of the Clean Industrial Technologies Act (CITA), Casten's bill to establish a crosscutting industrial emissions reduction technology development RDDC&A program, create a competitive grant program to help fund promising demonstration projects of decarbonization technologies, and launch a technical assistance program to help states, local governments, and other eligible entities to apply emissions reduction technologies

$500 million for battery storage technology R&D, including implementation of the Battery Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act, Casten's bill to provide the Department of Energy (DOE) with the energy storage technologies necessary to decarbonize the electricity sector while providing access to affordable, reliable to energy for all Americans

A total of $715M for the State Department to provide Bilateral Economic Assistance funding for adaptation, renewable energy development, and sustainable landscapes. The programs enable poor and developing countries to develop clean and renewable energy systems, build resilience to drought, flooding, and other extreme weather events, and steward tropical forests and other carbon-rich and biodiverse landscapes and seascapes. In doing so, they also strengthen American alliances, prevent food and water scarcities, help to avoid conflicts and forced migration, and bolster our own national security.

Casten, who was recently named SEEC Power Taskforce Chair, also secured a 30.8% increase in Research & Development to build our next generation clean energy grid. Congressman Casten has led the charge on improving transmission and siting policy in the United States to prepare for and anticipate the renewable energy transition.

Congressman Casten said, "After securing $505 million for clean energy battery storage and $500 million for the development of low-carbon industrial technologies in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, I was thrilled to secure an additional $500 million for each of those efforts at the Department of Energy. This marked a 50% increase in energy storage funding as a whole, which will be essential for our transition to a clean energy economy. Industrial emissions were the third largest category of US emissions in 2018, representing 22% of all US greenhouse gas emissions – or nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, and this funding will seek to reduce these emissions as quickly as possible."

Provide $13.6 billion in assistance for the people of Ukraine, as they face Russia's unprovoked, premeditated war (one pager). Additionally, the House passed separate legislation to economically isolate Putin's regime by codifying and building upon the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine. The legislation includes a ban on import of Russian oil into the US, encourages a review of Russia's status in the World Trade Organization, and signals U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations by strengthening the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, as the U.S. works to isolate the Putin regime..

"Right now, the Ukrainian people are being terrorized by a brutal despot running a petrostate whose power is the result of global dependence on Russian oil. This must end," said Congressman Casten. "Banning Russian energy imports is a necessary first step, but preventing oil-rich oligarchies from being able to afford military aggression in the long term demands that we double down on cleaner, cheaper energy produced in the U.S."

"What we're seeing right now makes clear that our transition to a clean energy economy isn't just necessary to protect Americans against climate devastation," Continued Congressman Casten. "National security demands investments in clean energy. American energy independence demands investments in clean energy. Insulating Americans against energy price inflation demands investments in clean energy. I'm proud to have fought for the successful passage of the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act to move towards a secure energy future for America."

This government funding legislation includes significant investments to:

  • Help Working Families With The Cost of Living: reducing costs by expanding child care and early learning programs to more working families, investing in America's K-12 public schools, expanding access to homeownership, and bringing the promise of rural broadband to more communities
  • Create American Jobs: putting folks to work in good-paying jobs rebuilding our infrastructure, helping small businesses grow and thrive, fostering the green energy jobs of tomorrow, and supporting high-quality job training and apprenticeship programs so every American can contribute and succeed
  • Support the Vulnerable: meeting Americans' basic needs by strengthening nutrition assistance, funding more affordable housing and strengthening the social safety net
  • Honor Our Promise to Veterans: funding benefits, bolstering the VA's health care system and reducing backlogs
  • Deliver Justice for Women and Girls: cracking down on gender-based violence with a long-overdue reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
  • Protect Our National Security: with robust funding for defense, diplomacy and global development, a strong focus on cybersecurity, and investments in responsible border and maritime security that keeps us safe and respects the rights and dignity of migrants
  • Confront the Climate Crisis: through a renewed focus on environmental enforcement, pioneering funding for environmental justice, and historic investments in clean energy and climate science
  • Strengthen Public Health: by rebuilding our health care infrastructure, establishing funding for President Biden's new cancer research initiative, and confronting urgent health crises – including maternal health, mental health, substance misuse, and gun violence
  • This legislation will also unlock critical infrastructure investments that have already been authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating good-paying jobs across Illinois.

Rep. Casten secured $7.9 million in funding for projects that will directly benefit Illinois' 6th district. Read more about each community project funding recipient and the impact this funding will make, here.

  • $614,000 for Deer Park Boulevard - Road Program.
  • $500,000 for Barrington - Pedestrian Grade Separation at Main Street and the Canadian National Railroad.
  • $197,644 for Bridges Communities, Inc. - Capital Rehabilitation of Glendale Heights Program Campus.
  • $3,000,000 for 360 Youth Services - Youth Affordable Housing Resource Center.
  • $1,080,000 for Downers Grove Sanitary District for Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation.
  • $785,000 for Village of Burr Ridge for Stormwater Management Improvements.
  • $750,000 for Morton Arboretum for an Urban Forestry Project.
  • $500,000 Community College District 502 Nursing, Dental Hygiene, and Health Sciences Program. $250,000 for DuPage Regional Office of Education, Wheaton, IL for high school work-based learning.
  • $250,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, Carpentersville, IL for an academic and SEL support program

Taken together, the funding for Illinois 6th and the funding increases for critical government programs will reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities, strengthen our nation, and protect our planet.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here. Next week, the House is slated to pass a separate bill fulfilling President Biden's request for $15 billion in funding to continue fighting COVID-19 across the world, protect against new variants and avoid future lock-downs.

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