By Glynn Wilson –

After threatening a presidential veto and another government shutdown, Donald Trump went on national television and complained about the massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending resolution passed this week by both houses of Congress, but then blinked and signed it into law.

It funds the federal government through Sept. 30 and includes large increases in military and non-defense spending, ending for now the Congressional struggle that has been going on since last fall to find a more long-term bipartisan solution to funding federal agencies. It also ends the constant infighting in Washington over short-term spending and allows members of Congress more time in their home districts to focus on November’s midterm elections.

A key player now in the bipartisan budget negations as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senator Doug Jones announced his role in passing the bill and the good news for communities and projects across Alabama. Senator Jones played an active role in securing new funds for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and expressed support for several defense projects across the state.

“This funding bill provides significant new resources for key Alabama initiatives – from infrastructure to defense to education,” Senator Jones said. “I’ve used my first three months in office to fight for the issues people in our state are facing every day, like affordable access to health care, helping our kids get a quality education, and creating an environment that will encourage job growth. I’m proud to say this funding agreement makes critical investments in those areas and many more that will benefit Alabamians from Decatur to Dothan.”

The omnibus bill contains funding for community development and infrastructure, child care, education, NASA, rural broadband, defense, and agriculture.

Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)

The bill provides $3.3 billion, an increase of $300 million from fiscal year 2017, to support sewer and clean water projects, removing blight, to small businesses and assisting seniors with home repairs. Alabama received more than $39 million in 2016.

Senator Jones questioned U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson Thursday about his department’s proposed elimination of the vital CDBG program. Read the best story and watch their exchange here.

U.S. Senator Doug Jones Questions HUD Secretary Ben Carson on Proposed Budget Cuts

Child Care

Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) will receive a $34 million increase. The Senator signed a letter led by Senator Tammy Duckworth on Feb. 28, 2018, to subcommittee leaders on the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting additional funding. Senator Jones visited Alabama’s only CCAMPIS site at Northwest-Shoals Community College last month.

Education

HBCUs: Senator Jones worked to secure significant new funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As a result of the omnibus bill, they will receive a 14-percent increase in federal funding, from $244.7 million in FY2017 to $279.6 million in FY2018. The funding increase follows a request made by Senator Jones and Senator Kamala Harris last month in a letter to the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. In addition to the increased funding for HBCUs, historically Black graduate institutions will also receive a 14-percent funding increase, from $63.3 million to $73.3 million. Predominantly Black Institutions will receive a boost from $9.9 million to $11.4 million.

Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: The agreement includes $1 billion, an increase of $700 million, to the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants. On March 8, 2018, Senator Jones signed a letter led by Senator Tammy Baldwin to the Senate Appropriations Committee and Labor-H Subcommittee asking for additional funds for these grants. This program can use funds for activities such as providing school-based health and mental health services and counseling, implementing systems and practices to prevent bullying and harassment, supporting trauma-informed classroom management, and establishing community partnerships.

NASA

The agreement provides $20.7 billion for NASA, an increase of nearly $1.1 billion above FY2017. Senator Jones visited the Marshall Space Flight Center during his recent statewide tour.

NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division will get a significant increase from $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion. The bill continues to direct NASA to build two spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The bill also provides $600 million for robotic Mars exploration.

Rural Broadband

The bill includes $600 million for a new initiative in high-speed broadband development – a 10-fold increase in broadband investment over FY2017 levels – focused on expanding access to remote unserved and under-served rural areas. Under the pilot, broadband loans could increase from $27 million to $1.5 billion, while grants could increase from $34.5 million to more than $300 million.

Defense

Key support for defense in Alabama includes for an additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EFT) Ship at Austal, without this investment, thousands of Mobile-area jobs would be at risk. Senator Jones visited Austal last month during his first official statewide tour. The omnibus also includes $400 million to build eight MH-60 helicopters in Troy, along with $100 million for space-launch vehicle and engine development activities.

Agriculture

The agreement also included a permanent clarification that farms are not required to report air emissions under CERCLA rules, also known as the Fair Agriculture Reporting Method (FARM) Act. Senator Jones is a cosponsor of the bipartisan FARM Act (S. 2421), which was introduced by Senators Deb Fischer and Joe Donnelly.