U.S. Representative Terry Sewell (AL-07) voted Wednesday to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. It is a package of six domestic funding bills that would avert a government shutdown and fund programs Americans depend on. Congressman Sewell secured $9.8 million for 11 community projects that will make Alabama's 7th Congressional District safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The package passed the House today on a bipartisan vote of 339-85 and now heads to the U.S. Senate.

“I am thrilled that the House came together to pass a common-sense government funding package that invests in the programs and services that our constituents depend on,” said Congressman Sewell. “Thanks to the work of House Democrats, this bill prevents devastating Republican cuts and provides critical resources to invest in affordable housing, strengthen public safety, and fight the climate crisis. .”

The government funding package passed by the House of Representatives includes $9.8 million set aside by Congressman Sewell for 11 community projects. These investments directly benefit the residents of Alabama's 7th Congressional District. They include:

• Donated $500,000 to Livingston's Black Belt Development and Conservation Resource Center to foster local innovation and entrepreneurship.
• $1 million to the Hale County Health Department to build a new emergency department at Hale County Hospital and expand its capacity to provide excellent health care to rural and underserved communities in the Black Belt region. donate dollars
• The Town of Pennington will contribute $1,000,000 to develop a community facility to serve as a local community center, disaster recovery, emergency response, and resource center.
• $959,752 for Wilcox County to install water lines and ensure a safe and reliable source of drinking water.
• Provides $500,000 to the Bessemer Airport Authority to build a UAV cage and testing facility that will provide pilot training, product research and development, competitive activities, and recreation for local communities, including underserved students. To do.
• $1,000,000 provided by the City of Homewood to install stormwater culverts and improve drainage.
• Donated $1 million to the Birmingham Regional Housing Authority to renovate the former Loveman Village public housing community and expand on-site child care to accommodate more children.
• Donate $850,000 to Miles College to upgrade security and improve public safety resources on campus and in the surrounding area.
• The City of Montgomery will donate $500,000 to revitalize underserved communities by improving parks and installing lighting/signage downtown.
• $1,666,279 for the City of Selma to address aging and dilapidated infrastructure within a 12-block area of ​​downtown Selma.
• Donate $850,000 to the West Alabama Food Bank to increase distribution capacity and provide fresh food to seniors and children in most counties in west Alabama.

“Throughout the year, we have worked hard to include community funding in this package, and we are pleased to announce that we have secured $9.8 million for projects in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District. ,” said Congressman Sewell. “From housing to health care to public safety, the investments we have secured directly address the needs of our district and will continue to reverse decades of disinvestment.”

Democrats rejected the Republicans' extreme cuts and secured important victories for the American people. The package:

• Fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) at $7.03 billion, an increase of more than $1 billion from the administration's requested level.
• Reversing the Republican effort to drastically reduce fruit and vegetable benefits in the WIC program.
• Fully funds participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Drops Republican proposal to restrict women's access to mifepristone.
• Address gender-based violence by increasing funding for prevention and prosecution programs under the Violence Against Women Act.
• $100 million for EDA's public works program to support brick-and-mortar projects in needy communities across the country.
• Combat job discrimination through continued strong funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Provide critical legal assistance to underserved communities through continued strong funding to the Legal Services Corporation.
• We will combat the climate crisis with continued strong funding for earth science and related climate research.
• We are creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs with a focus on deploying clean energy technologies and creating tomorrow's green jobs in communities across the country.
• Combat the climate crisis with more than $15 billion in transformative investments in clean energy and science to help develop clean, affordable, and secure U.S. energy.
• We have invested more than $10 billion in our nation's water infrastructure, which is critical to protecting communities from frequent and severe storms.
• Protects environmental justice (EJ) efforts, provides $100 million, and refuses to repeal $1.4 billion in House Republicans' anti-inflation bill EJ funds.
• Stabilize communities by protecting housing assistance for nearly 5 million low-income people and their families and ensuring they remain in safe, stable, and affordable housing.
• Provides $9 billion for public housing, an increase of $297 million from FY2023. This includes $3.2 billion to improve the quality and safety of public housing for more than 1.7 million residents.
• Provides $121 billion for veterans' health care.

The package includes funding bills for: Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies. commercial, judicial, scientific, and related institutions; Energy and water development and related agencies. Home Office, Environment Agency and related agencies. Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies. transportation, housing and urban development, and related agencies.

A detailed overview of the law is available here.

The remaining six spending bills for fiscal year 2024 are expected to be announced in the coming days and voted on ahead of the March 22 deadline.