Great Lakes Wire

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) on July 27, 2023, helped the Senate Appropriations Committee pass the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

The bipartisan legislation would fund high-impact local projects and Michigan priorities, including through investments in job training and workforce development programs, health care facilities, efforts to reduce prescription drug shortages, and in expanded mental health grants. Peters also championed a program to provide resources for schools and colleges to respond and recover from violent or traumatic events.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is considering their own funding bills. The Senate and House will then need to reach an agreement on a final funding bill and have it pass both chambers before being sent to the President to be signed into law. 

“This legislation would make needed investments in priorities important to Michiganders from workforce development, to health care and mental health resources, and addressing drug shortages,” said Senator Peters. “I’ll continue advocating for these resources as we work to fund the government.”

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:

• Funding for a student success center at Henry Ford College: Would provide $3 million for Henry Ford College’s Southeast Michigan Student Success Center to support career programming and training needs in southeast Michigan.  
• Funding for public health training programs at Wayne State University: Would provide $1 million for Wayne State University for equipment for the school of public health to grow the public health workforce in Michigan.
• Funding to develop a technology workforce in West Michigan: Would provide Grand Valley State University $2.5 million to support a collaboration with area employers and economic development entities through the Blue Dot Center for Talent, Technology, and Transformation to establish a technology workforce for West Michigan.
• Funding for Delta College to create a semiconductor apprenticeship program: Would provide $284,000 for Delta College to support the development of curriculum and apprenticeship programming relating to semiconductor production and research.
• Funding for Michigan State University to train enforcement agencies on combatting cybercrimes: Would provide $1 million for Michigan State University’s Cybercrimes Investigations and Training Center to provide multi-day trainings for law enforcement agencies regarding cybercrime, investigative methods, and resources for victims.
• Funding for a crisis mental health center to be used by Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties: Would provide more than $1.9 million for the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham Counties to support the creation of a center to treat individuals experiencing acute episodes of mental illness.
• Funding to decrease maternal and infant mortality in Detroit: Would provide $900,000 for the Detroit Health Department to support the training and certification of doulas and provide both mothers and fathers with training and education during the perinatal and postpartum periods.
• Funding for prenatal health and newborn care in Dearborn: Would provide $1 million for education, supplies, and other resources regarding prenatal health and newborn care to support expectant and new mothers in Dearborn.
• Funding for the University of Michigan’s Survival Flight program: Would provide more than $2.2 million to provide equipment and helicopters for the University of Michigan’s Survival Flight program that provides rapid transport of critically ill patients.
• Funding to create a behavioral health crisis center in Kent County: Would provide $750,000 for Kent County to support the creation of a facility to treat individuals experiencing acute episodes of mental illness.
• Funding to expand MSU’s public health building: Would provide $572,000 to support the construction of a building at Michigan State University to house public health research and education in Flint, Michigan.
• Funding to prepare students in Eaton for careers in aviation: Would provide $340,000 for the Capital Region Aviation Careers Institute and the Eaton Regional Education Service Agency to prepare students from local K-12 schools for careers in the aviation industry.
• Funding for pilot training programs at Northwestern Michigan College: Would provide $550,000 for Northwestern Michigan College to expand a hangar and purchase additional aircraft to train more students as pilots.
• Funding for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi to create a health clinic: Would provide $1.5 million for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi to create a health clinic to include medical exam rooms, physical therapy services, behavioral health counseling, and a pharmacy.
• Investments in workforce development programs: Would fund critical workforce development programs including 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Grants and Apprenticeship Grants, and the Nursing Workforce Development Program to expand access to apprenticeships, skills trainings and career and technical education. The bill would also provide an increase in funding for Registered Apprenticeships to help leverage investments made in the bipartisan infrastructure law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act to continue to grow the economy, provide workers the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs of the future, and help American businesses compete globally.
• Funding for public health and pandemic prevention: Would provide funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative agreement which supports state and local health departments to quickly detect, monitor, and respond to health threats. The bill would also provide funding for the CDC’s Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund to support preventing, preparing for, and responding to infectious disease emergencies. It would also provide funding for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for pandemic preparedness.
• Helping address shortages of common medications: Would help address shortages of medications by urging HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prioritize identification of pharmaceutical supply chain risks to reduce supply chain disruptions and drug shortages. The bill would also direct the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to identify opportunities to support manufacturing of essential medicines with a focus on mitigating drug shortages.  As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has led efforts to address drug shortages and bolster our supply chains and identified health and national security risks related to drug shortages in a 2019 report. Among those efforts, he released an investigative report earlier this year that found shortages of drugs are on the rise due to economic drivers, insufficient visibility into supply chains, increased demand and our nation’s continued overreliance on geographically concentrated foreign suppliers for many of the raw materials used to manufacture critical drugs. 
• Funding to help schools and colleges respond and recover from traumatic events: Would provide funding for the Department of Education’s School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) Grant Program, which supplies critical funding for schools and colleges to respond and recover in the aftermath of violent or traumatic events.
• Funding to support the Pell Grant program: Would provide funding for the federal Pell Grant program to lower costs and help make a college education more affordable for eligible students. The bill would also increase the maximum Pell Grant award. Each year, Pell Grants help over 6 million students at all stages of life pursue post-secondary education and further their careers.
• Increasing funding for K-12 schools: Would increase funding for K-12 schools through Title I-A grants to provide financial assistance to schools with high numbers of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children can receive a quality education and meet state academic standards.
• Investments in organized labor protections: Would provide funding for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency charged with safeguarding employees’ rights to organize, engage with one another to seek better working conditions, choose whether or not to have a collective bargaining representative negotiate on their behalf with their employer, or refrain from doing so. The NLRB also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions, as well as conducts secret-ballot elections regarding union representation. The bill would also provide continued investments in the Department of Labor’s worker protection agencies, including increased funding for the Wage and Hour Division and Office of the Solicitor to protect workers’ rights.
• Funding for community and maternal health & strengthening the health care workforce: Would fund Community Health Centers to support programs to prevent and control chronic diseases and improve community health. The bill would also provide funding for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant program, which supports the health and well-being of mothers, children, and families. The bill would also provide increased health care access and affordability, and strengthen the health care workforce, through investments in community health centers, school-based health centers, and funding to bolster public health infrastructure and rebuild the workforce at the state and local level to be ready to respond to emerging public health threats.
• Funding to support access to quality child care: Would provide funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which helps qualifying families access quality child care. The bill would also provide funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program to support early intervention and special education services for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. The bill would also provide funding for Head Start and the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program.
• Funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Would provide funding for NIH, including increased funding for mental health research, Alzheimer’s research, reducing maternal mortality, and cancer research.
• Funding for substance use prevention and treatment: Would provide funding to help address the rising toll of opioid overdoses fueled by fentanyl and improve access to substance use disorder treatment and prevention. The bill provides funding for opioid treatment and prevention, the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant, the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, and NIH opioid research programs.
• Increasing access to mental health care: Would provide funding for the Mental Health Block Grant and the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program to expand community-based clinical training and for repayment of education loans for individuals working in either a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area or where the overdose death rate exceeds the national average. The bill would also provide funding for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, funding for the 988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and investments within the Department of Education to address the shortage of school-based mental health professionals in our nation’s K-12 schools.
• Funding for diabetes research: Would provide funding for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to conduct and support research and research training on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases, digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases to improve people’s health and quality of life.

Original source can be found here.