Senate Restores Funding for Norton’s Top Priorities in D.C. Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Even though the Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill has not been released yet, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) was delighted that the bill summary shows that the Senate Appropriations Committee fully funds her top priorities, restoring funding the House version of the bill cut from the president's budget. The committee fully funded the president's request of $35 million for the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant program (DCTAG), which is $5 million more than the fiscal year 2013 enacted level and a turnabout from the House's bill, which cut the program's funding by 50 percent. The bill fully funded the president's $14.5 million request for the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water). The House bill zeroed out funding. The funds are for the ongoing work to fix D.C.'s sewer system and clean up the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and Rock Creek, Norton's top environmental priority. The bill provides the full $5 million in the president's budget for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in D.C., compared to $2.5 million in the House bill.

"I could not be more pleased that the committee provided the necessary funding for DCTAG, DC Water and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for D.C. residents – the three programs that endured the most egregious cuts in the House bill," said Norton. "I especially thank our new chair, Senator Tom Udall, for his strong efforts and support on the bill."

The full bill is expected to be available later this evening.

Published: July 25, 2013