Source: United States Senator for California – Dianne Feinstein
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on President Biden’s budget request to Congress:
“President Biden’s budget expands on his promise to invest in the American people. As we continue to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the president’s budget will help reduce inflation, strengthen our economy and ensure the rich pay their fair share in taxes.
“His budget takes seriously the threat of climate change. It includes new funding to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and transition to cleaner energy sources. It also addresses the effects of climate change we’re already experiencing, including providing new funding to hire more federal wildland firefighters and prepare for increasingly severe droughts.
“The budget includes funding for other programs important to California. It includes key provisions to stop sewage from flowing from Mexico into San Diego, expand access to affordable housing and ensure more students can go to college. It also nearly doubles funding for programs in the Violence Against Woman Act to prevent domestic violence and help survivors.
“As Congress and the Biden administration begin negotiations on next year’s funding bills, I’m glad to see the president’s priorities are in the right place, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass these important provisions.”
Key priorities
- Invests $18 billion to confront climate change, including to restore aquatic ecosystems, reduce flooding and protect public housing from sea level rise and extreme weather events.
- Nearly doubles funding for Violence Against Women Act programs, investing $1 billion in programs to help prevent domestic violence.
- Invests more than $1.5 billion for federal wildland firefighter salaries to hire an additional 3,200 firefighters.
- Invests nearly $200 million for wildfire preparedness and more than $320 million to remove dead or dying trees from our forests.
- Authorizes the International Boundary and Water Commission to address stormwater and sewage pollution along the Southern border.
- Invests in California’s public transportation systems, including $200 million to extend BART service in Santa Clara County and $250 million to extend LA Metro an additional nine miles in the San Fernando Valley between the G Line (Orange) Van Nuys Station and the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station.
- Increases IRS funding by 18 percent to help collect hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes that go uncollected each year and improve taxpayer services.
- Invests nearly $8 billion in the Office of Science, including programs at Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore and Stanford’s Linear Accelerator national labs.
- Invests in affordable housing, including $32 billion for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and more than $14 billion for the Project-Based Rental Assistance program to assist low-income families find safe and affordable housing.
- Doubles the maximum amount a student can receive in Pell Grants by 2029. This begins with an increase of $2,175 for the 2023-2024 school year.