Rep. Delgado Successfully Includes Supplemental Funding for Lyme Disease Prevention in Appropriations Package

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) highlighted significant victories for NY-19 in H.R. 7617, federal funding legislation made up of Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Service and General Government, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development bills. Last week, Rep. Delgado voted to pass appropriations legislation including report language mirroring his Fairness for Local Veteran Cemeteries Act.

The legislation passed today includes an amendment co-sponsored by Rep. Delgado to add an additional $4 million dollars for research and development of treatment for Lyme and tick-borne diseases. The final bill includes a total of $20 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Lyme program, a $6 million increase from fiscal year (FY) 2020. Rep. Delgado has secured funding increases for this program for two years in a row. Rep. Delgado also successfully secured robust funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration, including a funding increase for Mental and Substance Use Disorder Workforce Training Demonstration Program. This program plays a critical role in expanding the health care workforce and treating substance use disorders.

"While our nation confronts urgent challenges -- it has never been more important that we support the well-being of our communities and invest in our economies from the ground up. I advocated to increase funding for our upstate health care workforce, whose commitment to treating substance abuse disorders makes a meaningful impact on lives across our district. I also pushed for the inclusion of an amendment to boost funding for the research and development of treatments for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases," said Rep. Antonio Delgado.

Below are a number of notable wins for upstate communities in H.R. 7617:

Infrastructure

$107.2 billion in total budgetary resources for the Department of Transportation
$7.6 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including studies, construction, and operation & maintenance
$1.64 billion for U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water resources projects
$75 billion in emergency funding to rebuild our nation's transportation and housing infrastructure
$61 billion in emergency funding to expand the availability of broadband to unserved and underserved areas

Health Care

$6 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
$3.8 billion for substance use treatment, including continued funding for opioid prevention and treatment and recovery, an increase of $10 million above FY20
$209 million for substance abuse prevention, an increase of $3 million above FY20
$334 million for Rural Health Programs, including increases for telehealth and rural hospitals, an increase of $16 million above FY20

Medical Research

$47 billion for the National Institutes of Health, an increase of $5.5 billion above FY20
$50 million, an increase of $25 million above FY20, for firearm injury and mortality prevention research at CDC and NIH

Education and Job Training

$73.5 billion for the Department of Education
$10.8 billion for Head Start, an increase of $150 million above FY 2020
$10.2 billion for the Employment and Training Administration

Housing

$50.6 billion for Housing and Urban Development

Strong Communities

$3.5 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$356 million for the Economic Development Administration, helping boost struggling communities
$273.5 million for Community Development Financial Institutions

Police Reform

Implements key components of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, with strong funding for police reform
Conditions federal grant funding for state and local law enforcement on significant improvements to police practices

Service Members and Military Families

Provides full funding necessary to support the 3 percent military pay raise
More than $33.3 billion for Defense Health Programs, including $512.5 million for cancer research

Climate Change

$12 billion across Department of Energy programs to support clean, affordable, and secure energy
$5.45 billion for NOAA, helping address important priorities such as climate research

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