Brown Secures Key Wins for Ohio Communities in Bipartisan Government Funding Package

On: By: Roxie Bell

Brown Voted to Support Border Agents and Ohio Military Installations; Legislation Also Will Help Address the Fentanyl Crisis, Invest in Communities Across Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 23, 2024 – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) secured key wins for Ohio communities in a government funding package that passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote. Brown voted to pass the package that invests in Ohio, increases resources for border security, supports Ohio military installations, and helps combat the addiction crisis.

“This bipartisan package supports Ohio military installations, helps get border agents the support they need, and invests in communities across Ohio – from the Great Lakes to Piketon,” said Brown. “These critical investments will deliver on community projects proposed by Ohioans across the state, and help to do everything from cleaning up Lake Erie to making our communities safer.”

This is the second of two bipartisan funding packages needed to keep the government open. The first bipartisan bill to fund half the government was signed into law on March 9, 2024. Today’s package builds on that work and funds the remainder of the federal government through the rest of the fiscal year. Together, the two funding packages include Brown’s efforts to:

Invest in Local Projects Across Ohio: 

Brown and his office worked with Ohioans to secure Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) investments through the Senate Appropriations Committee. Brown’s office offered a reliable, easily accessible, and user-friendly program for local leaders across Ohio to submit CDS requests, with the goal of using every tool available to invest in Ohio communities.

  • For a list of local projects that Brown secured in today’s funding package, click HERE.
  • For a full list of local projects that Brown secured in both funding packages, click HERE.

The bill also includes language directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue working with state and local health departments to develop a long-term follow-up study of the public health impacts of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Support Ohio Military Installations and Bolster our National Defense:

  • Wright Patterson Air Force Base:
    • $18 million for the planning and design of Phase V of the Wright Patterson Air Force Base that will allow several organizations to streamline operations and help ensure Dayton’s Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is equipped to support Air Force operations for years to come.
    • $9 million for the Air Force Minority Scholars Program, a collaborative research partnership between Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and academia that engages a diverse pool of talent in addressing foundational research challenges in support of the nation’s air, space, and cyberspace technology needs. This program is the Air Force’s single largest endeavor with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Ohio State University plays a lead role in operating this program which plays a critical role in producing the next generation of leaders.
  • Youngstown Air Reserve Station:
    • $2.5 million for the planning and design of a new fire station at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS). This is critical to the mission at YARS; YARS firefighters not only are responsible for fire safety on the base, but they also respond to emergencies in neighboring Mahoning Valley communities.
    • $6.1 million for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport runway rehabilitation project, which YARS relies upon.  
  • Lima’s Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC): JSMC provides the Department of Defense with the manufacturing, repair, and refurbishment of heavy and light armored combat vehicles. The JSMC produces combat vehicles and their components for the M1 Abrams Family, the hull structure of the Namer Armored Personnel Carrier, hull structures for the Stryker Family of Vehicles, and MK 46 Naval Weapons Gun Station turrets.
    • $532 million increase for additional Abrams tanks. The U.S. Army’s M1A2 SEP Version 3 (SEPv3) Abrams main battle is the only combat platform in the Army’s inventory capable of defeating armored forces of near-peer threats including Russia and China. 250 of the tanks made in Lima were sold to Poland to support our important NATO partner and ally.
    • $80 million for Stryker vehicles. The Stryker Family of Vehicles is the largest and most reliable combat vehicle fleet in the US Army. The Stryker fleet has logged over 30 million combat miles in more than 23 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Mission Acceleration Centers: $65 million for Mission Acceleration Centers including the Ohio Mission Acceleration Center in Dayton, which Brown fought to establish, that will accelerate the development and adoption of new technology solutions to meet national security challenges, and support Ohio small businesses that are on the leading edge of new technology.
  • Adaptive Engine Transition Program: $280 million for GE Aviation’s Adaptive Engine Transition Program to restore engine life, prevent degradation for the F-35A’s operational performance, and ensure the United States Air Force can continue to mature adaptive engine technologies. These funds support the GE Aviation workforce in Dayton and Evendale, Ohio.

Critical Funding for NASA Programs in Ohio: This bill provides critical wins for Ohio’s NASA Glenn Research Center and NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility:

  • $25 million for physical and cybersecurity upgrades at Ohio’s NASA Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky. 
  • $935 million for NASA’s Aeronautics account to accelerate research and development for next generation commercial engine technologies for electrified aircraft propulsion, including electric air flight. NASA is further encouraged to support research into additive manufacturing.
  • $20 million for NASA’s Fission Surface Power program that will enable a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
  • $15 million for Hypersonics Technology.
  • $50 million for Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) to begin a systematic approach to NEP technology development.

Protect Ohio Communities:

  • Securing the Southern Border: $8.4 billion to support Border Security Operations.
  • Tackling the Fentanyl Crisis: $125 million to support efforts to stop global flows of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, as well as their precursor materials.
  • Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants: $924 million for important programs supporting communities and law enforcement including:
    • $30 million for the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program.
  • Helping Cities Fight Terrorism: $553.5 million for the Urban Areas Security Initiative Program to assist high-threat, high-density urban areas in efforts to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.
  • Protecting Houses of Worship: $274 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program which provides funding support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements and activities to nonprofit organizations – particularly houses of worship – that are at high risk of terrorist attack.
  • Keeping Communities Safe from Terrorism and Targeted Violence: $18 million for the targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program which provides funding for state and local governments, nonprofits, and institutions of higher education with funds to establish or enhance capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism.
  • Investing in Firefighters: $648 million for Assistance to Firefighter grants for funding critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel, enhance efficiencies, and support community resilience and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants.

Support Ohio Workers and Position Ohio to Lead in the Industries of the Future:

  • Implementing and Investing in the CHIPS and Science Act: The bipartisan funding package includes $10.6 billion for science and technology programs to implement the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act to help drive U.S. economic competitiveness with investments such as Intel’s construction of semiconductor fabs in Licking County, Ohio. The bill invests in scientific research to allow the United States to keep pace with the Chinese government and other competitors in fields that power our economy, like semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, microelectronics, clean energy, and advanced communications.
  • Tech Hub Program: $41 million for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program, which was authorized for the first time in the CHIPS and Science Act. Brown created the Tech Hub Program and has supported Akron’s application for full funding for their Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub.
  • WIOA and the National Apprenticeship Act: The bipartisan funding package includes this bill to invest in employment and training programs, including for workers in regions like Appalachia Ohio, and training programs through community colleges.

Support Servicemembers, Military Families and Veterans:

  • The bill will improve the quality of life of servicemembers, their families, and Defense civilian personnel by:
    • Lowering housing and childcare costs for military families, and
    • Increasing pay for military servicemembers and Defense civilian personnel.
  • The bill provides investments in our veterans including:
    • $343 million for Rural Health to support improved access to care, including expanded access to transportation and telehealth.
    • $2.4 billion for Caregivers to help VA implement this critical program and extend legacy participant eligibility and benefits through 2025.
    • $3.1 billion for Veteran Homelessness Prevention to support critical services and housing assistance for veterans and their families experiencing housing insecurity.
    • $16.2 billion for mental health to get veterans the mental health services they deserve. This includes $559 million for suicide prevention outreach.

Invest in Rail Safety and Fixing Our Roads and Bridges

  • Rail Safety Investments: $27.3 million increase for the Federal Railroad Administration’s safety and operations budget to help address rail safety deficiencies identified following the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine. The investment will also support research for the development and utilization technology to prevent derailments and study the safety of long trains. Following the derailment, Brown has fought to make the East Palestine community whole, hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make sure a derailment like this doesn’t happen again.
  • Supplemental Highway and Public Transit Investments: $345 million for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program, which funds projects across Ohio. RAISE grants were awarded last year to Toledo’s Junction and Uptown neighborhoods and the City of Kent’s East Main Street, and supplemental funds will help additional Ohio project receive funding.
  • Rebuilding American Infrastructure Investments: $2.225 billion for Highway Infrastructure Programs, which supplement highway funds distributed to states under the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. 

Invest in Housing

  • Affordable Housing and Community Development: Investments to combat the nationwide shortage of safe, affordable homes, maintain rental assistance programs that help workers, families with children, seniors, and persons with disabilities throughout Ohio find affordable housing, and invest in the HOME Investment Partnership Program which provides grants to states and localities to expand affordable housing opportunities for renters and homeowners.
  • Supporting Housing for Veterans and Young People: Funding to make 3,000 new rental housing vouchers available to young people aging out of foster care and veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

Support Ohio Health Care Providers and Increase Access to Care for Ohioans: This bill includes support for Ohio’s children’s hospitals, medical providers, substance use and mental health crises, and health research.

  • $390 million for the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Program, which provides resources to train over half of all pediatricians across the country, including many at children’s hospitals across Ohio. This is the highest funding level for CHGME to date.
  • $25 million for the Regional Pediatric Pandemic Network, which encompasses a network of children’s hospitals, including University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, to coordinate and best prepare for emergencies, disasters, and pandemics.
  • $26.8 million for Poison Control Centers which helps to support the work and research of at Poison Control Centers, including: the Drug and Poison Information Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Central Ohio Poison Control Center of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
  • Addresses the substance use and mental health crises by providing $519.6 million for the 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline and more than $4.6 billion to support substance use and prevention efforts.
  • Opioid Response including:
    • $1.575 billion for State Opioid Response Grants
    • $145 million for Rural Communities Opioid Response
    • $505 million to National Center for Injury Prevention for Opioid Overdose Prevention and Surveillance

Invest in Ohio’s Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy:

  • Protecting Ohio Farms from Foreign Ownership: This bill adds the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review agriculture-related transactions and requires USDA to notify CFIUS about certain land transactions that may pose national security risks, with particular emphasis on transactions by foreign governments or entities of concern, including China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia. And provides $2m to support these efforts. Brown has led efforts to prevent and expose foreign ownership of American farmland.
  • 1890s Institutions Funding: This bill includes funding for the 1890 Land-Grant institutions like Central State University in Wilberforce. Brown has worked for years to secure critical investments for the program. Investment in this package include:
    • $10 million for the Centers of Excellence
    • $10 million for 1890s Scholarships
    • $89 million for Research at 1890s
    • $72 million for 1890s extension
    • $30 million for 1890s Capacity building grants
    • $21.5 million for 1890s facilities and infrastructure
  • $13 million for the Value-Added Producer Grant, another program that Brown created and leading efforts to reauthorize in the 2023 Farm Bill. This is a competitive grant program that provides funding to farmers and groups of farmers to create or develop value-added producer-owned businesses. 
  • $5 million for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program, Brown is leading effort to improve this program to make it easier for Ohio schools to source Ohio grown food and provide students with farm-focused agriculture and nutrition education.
  • $368 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative which plays a critical role in restoring and reclaiming the Great Lakes and its tributaries. This funding will ensure it has the resources it needs to address the most serious issues that threaten the ecological and economic wellbeing of the Great Lakes basin, including invasive species, pollution, and toxic contamination.
  • $2.76 billion for the EPA, Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds which helps communities in Ohio finance upgrades and replacement to critical drinking water and wastewater treatment infrastructure.
  • $24 million for the African American Civil Rights Grants Program a program Brown created which will fund a broad range of planning, development, and research projects for historic sites including survey, inventory, documentation, interpretation, education, architectural services, historic structure reports, preservation plans, and “bricks and mortar” repair.
  • $2.5 million to support the implementation of the recently authorized Great Lakes Authority to promote economic and community development in lake-side counties in 8 states including Ohio. These investments will ensure communities in the region have access to quality public infrastructure, job training opportunities, affordable health care, and the general tools necessary for economic prosperity. Brown has long fought to invest in Lake Erie.
  • $200 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission to promote economic and community development, education and job training, and critical infrastructure throughout the region.
  • $2.7 billion to implement the Nuclear Fuel Security Act and restart domestic uranium enrichment activities which will support for uranium enrichment in Pike County which will help alleviate the supply chain issues surrounding nuclear fuels in the United States and end our reliance on Russian enriched uranium. Brown cosponsored this provision in the 2023 National Defense Package.
  • $492 million for Portsmouth Decontamination and Decommission for cleanup at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, which will ensure that cleanup continues as planned. Brown fought to ensure that workers at Piketon receive the necessary funding to maintain workforce levels and keep cleanup on pace.