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Rep. Nadler Secures the Inclusion of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, WTC Health Program Supplemental Fund, and $22.6 million for Community Projects across Manhattan and Brooklyn in FY2023 Spending Bill

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Jerrold Nadler announced the House passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 federal spending bill, a package of twelve government funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States. The investments in the bill will lower the cost of living for hardworking people, create better-paying jobs, and help communities and families in need. It also includes emergency funding to respond to the devastation that recent natural disasters and extreme weather events have left behind. It also provides emergency resources to support the Ukrainian people and global democracy in the face of Russia's continued invasion. I am also proud that the bill includes more than $800 million for humanitarian assistance funding to assist cities in supporting the homeless and asylum seekers.

In addition to funding the federal government, the spending bill includes more than $22.6 million that Rep. Nadler secured for 15 community projects across Manhattan and Brooklyn.  

The spending bill also includes multiple bipartisan Nadler-led bills, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, and the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Supplemental Fund.

"I am incredibly proud that the FY 2023 federal spending bill includes my bills, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, and funding for the World Trade Center Health Program," said Rep. Nadler. "For decades, women have been fired, passed over for promotion, or forced out on leave when they become pregnant when they simply required a modest accommodation to continue working without jeopardizing their health. Guaranteeing pregnant workers reasonable accommodations will erode pernicious discrimination against pregnant women, strengthen our economy, and keep women and children healthy and safe. With the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act­—which I have led in the House for over a decade—we can finally provide pregnant workers the peace of mind that they can stay on the job, provide for their families, and get the accommodations they need. Passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a monumental and historic victory for gender, racial, and economic justice."

"I am also pleased that the spending bill includes my Fairness for 9/11 Act and one billion dollars to close the funding gap for the World Trade Center Health Program—which I worked to establish in the aftermath of 9/11," Rep. Nadler continued. "Congress has an enduring obligation to support the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families. I am proud that my Fairness for 9/11 Families Act will provide a catch-up payment for thousands of 9/11 victims, spouses, and dependents who were unfairly excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. I am also proud that the spending bill contains urgently needed funding to ensure that families enrolled in the World Trade Center Health will not have their healthcare services interrupted. I look forward to continuing our work next Congress to strengthen this program and ensure that 9/11 first responders and survivors can access critical health care services for decades to come."

Rep. Nadler-led bills passed in the FY2023 spending bill include:

  •  The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act seeks to ensure that no pregnant worker is ever forced to make the impossible decision between the health of their pregnancy and a paycheck. The bill will create an affirmative right to accommodation and utilizes the framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers so long as the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship upon the employer. The bill received wide-ranging support both within Congress and outside of it, with over two hundred worker advocates, civil rights groups, and business groups—including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—urging its passage.
  • The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act provides catch-up payments for 9/11 victims, spouses, and dependents who were excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund when it was established in 2015 because they had received payments from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
  • The WTC Health Program Supplemental Fund provides $1 billion for the WTC Program and includes funding for research on the impact of 9/11 toxins on children throughout their lives. The WTC program was established in 2010 by the passage of the Rep. Nadler co-led James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The program provides medical benefits to first responders and survivors impacted by the 9/11 attacks. Without this funding, the health program would have had to start cutting back on services in October 2024. The funding will cover shortfalls for the next five years.

 

The spending bill included many of Rep. Nadler's priorities and programs important to New York City, including:

Community Projects:

Rep. Nadler secured more than $22.6 million for 15 community projects across Manhattan and Brooklyn. The community projects include:

  • $2,950,000 for the Addressing Climate Challenges to Agriculture and Water Quality in the New York City Watershed Project (Columbia University).
  • $105,000 for academic and arts programs, including support for English learners (Chinese American Social Services Center).
  • $500,000 for mental health services and treatment, outreach, education, and equipment (Chinese-American Planning Council).
  • $3,000,000 for establishing a senior center to serve the Midwood neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY (Council of Peoples Organization Inc).
  • $750,000 for fire Suppression and alarm systems modernization (Metropolitan Opera). 
  • $750,000 for the Hudson River Habitat Enhancement Project (Hudson River Park Trust)
  • $1,680,000 for the Italian American Experience Permanent Exhibition Project (Italian American Museum)
  • $1,650,000 for behavioral health services, workforce training, and care coordination. (Maimonides Medical Center)
  • $700,000 for the Memorial Pools Energy Efficiency Retrofits Project (National September 11 Memorial & Museum)
  • $500,000 for the New Day at Federal Hall: Preserving and Presenting America's Rich and Diverse History Project (National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy)
  • $3,000,000 for the New-York Historical Society/American LGBTQ+ Museum Partnership Project (New York Historical Society)
  • $750,000 for the Pier 86: Replacement of Final Segment (Intrepid Museum Foundation)
  • $1,500,000 for the Planetarium Programming Development Project (American Museum of Natural History)
  • $3,800,000 for the Safety Improvement Project at NYCHA Developments (New York City Housing Authority)
  • $1,000,000 to rejuvenate an abandoned healthcare clinic on NYCHA property and restore services (Vision Urbana, Inc.)

Authorizations and Programmatic Funding:

The FY 2023 spending bill includes $772 billion in non-defense funding, a $42 billion increase from FY 2022. It also provides $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and our NATO allies and $40.6 billion to assist communities across the country in recovering from drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, and other natural disasters. The legislation is a critical down payment on President Biden's promise to lower the cost of living for working families, support vulnerable populations, and create better-paying American jobs. Finally, the bill addresses some of our nation's biggest challenges by including funding and provisions to address the climate crisis and keep our democracy and communities safe.

  • Lower the Cost of Living Working Families: by expanding childcare and early learning programs to more working families, investing in America's K-12 public schools, and increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $500, the largest increase in a decade. The bill also increases funding for health services covered by Title X, including family planning.
  • Support the Vulnerable: by meeting Americans' basic needs by strengthening nutrition assistance, funding more affordable housing by providing over $58 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and strengthening the social safety net. Rep. Nadler led the House appropriations requests for Section 8 Housing and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program, both of which received funding increases from FY 2022. The bill also includes over $800 million for cities to provide shelter, food, and supportive services to individuals and families experiencing hunger or homelessness and deliver humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers. The bill also increases SNAP funding by $13.4 billion and includes provisions protecting beneficiaries from fraud. Finally, the bill provides a record $700 million for combatting violence against women.    
  • Create Better-Paying American Jobs: by creating and sustaining good-paying American jobs focusing on deploying clean energy technologies and the green jobs of tomorrow in communities across the country. The bill also includes significant investments in job training, apprenticeship programs, and worker protection and includes the first funding increase for the National Labor Relations Board since FY 2010.
  • Address the Climate Crisis: by including $15.3 billion—a one billion increase from 2022—to respond to the climate crisis by investing in research, development, demonstration, and deployment of clean energy and secure domestic energy supply chains. The bill includes funding and provisions that renew our nation's focus on environmental enforcement, pioneering funding for environmental justice, and historic investments in clean energy and climate science.
  • Keep Our Democracy and Communities Safe: the spending bill includes the Electoral Count Reform Act, which would safeguard the results of a presidential election. It also provides more resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasing funding for the National Institute of Health to strengthen lifesaving biomedical research and confronting urgent health crises–including maternal health, mental health, substance misuse, and gun violence.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Jerrold Nadler announced the House passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 federal spending bill, a package of twelve government funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States. The investments in the bill will lower the cost of living for hardworking people, create better-paying jobs, and help communities and families in need. It also includes emergency funding to respond to the devastation that recent natural disasters and extreme weather events have left behind. It also provides emergency resources to support the Ukrainian people and global democracy in the face of Russia's continued invasion. I am also proud that the bill includes more than $800 million for humanitarian assistance funding to assist cities in supporting the homeless and asylum seekers.

In addition to funding the federal government, the spending bill includes more than $22.6 million that Rep. Nadler secured for 15 community projects across Manhattan and Brooklyn.  

The spending bill also includes multiple bipartisan Nadler-led bills, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, and the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Supplemental Fund.

"I am incredibly proud that the FY 2023 federal spending bill includes my bills, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, and funding for the World Trade Center Health Program," said Rep. Nadler. "For decades, women have been fired, passed over for promotion, or forced out on leave when they become pregnant when they simply required a modest accommodation to continue working without jeopardizing their health. Guaranteeing pregnant workers reasonable accommodations will erode pernicious discrimination against pregnant women, strengthen our economy, and keep women and children healthy and safe. With the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act­—which I have led in the House for over a decade—we can finally provide pregnant workers the peace of mind that they can stay on the job, provide for their families, and get the accommodations they need. Passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a monumental and historic victory for gender, racial, and economic justice."

"I am also pleased that the spending bill includes my Fairness for 9/11 Act and one billion dollars to close the funding gap for the World Trade Center Health Program—which I worked to establish in the aftermath of 9/11," Rep. Nadler continued. "Congress has an enduring obligation to support the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families. I am proud that my Fairness for 9/11 Families Act will provide a catch-up payment for thousands of 9/11 victims, spouses, and dependents who were unfairly excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. I am also proud that the spending bill contains urgently needed funding to ensure that families enrolled in the World Trade Center Health will not have their healthcare services interrupted. I look forward to continuing our work next Congress to strengthen this program and ensure that 9/11 first responders and survivors can access critical health care services for decades to come."

 

Rep. Nadler-led bills passed in the FY2023 spending bill include:

  • The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act seeks to ensure that no pregnant worker is ever forced to make the impossible decision between the health of their pregnancy and a paycheck. The bill will create an affirmative right to accommodation and utilizes the framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers so long as the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship upon the employer. The bill received wide-ranging support both within Congress and outside of it, with over two hundred worker advocates, civil rights groups, and business groups—including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—urging its passage.
  • The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act provides catch-up payments for 9/11 victims, spouses, and dependents who were excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund when it was established in 2015 because they had received payments from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.
  • The WTC Health Program Supplemental Fund provides $1 billion for the WTC Program and includes funding for research on the impact of 9/11 toxins on children throughout their lives. The WTC program was established in 2010 by the passage of the Rep. Nadler co-led James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The program provides medical benefits to first responders and survivors impacted by the 9/11 attacks. Without this funding, the health program would have had to start cutting back on services in October 2024. The funding will cover shortfalls for the next five years.

 

The spending bill included many of Rep. Nadler's priorities and programs important to New York City, including:

Community Projects:

Rep. Nadler secured more than $22.6 million for 15 community projects across Manhattan and Brooklyn. The community projects include:

  • $2,950,000 for the Addressing Climate Challenges to Agriculture and Water Quality in the New York City Watershed Project (Columbia University).
  • $105,000 for academic and arts programs, including support for English learners (Chinese American Social Services Center).
  • $500,000 for mental health services and treatment, outreach, education, and equipment (Chinese-American Planning Council).
  • $3,000,000 for establishing a senior center to serve the Midwood neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY (Council of Peoples Organization Inc).
  • $750,000 for fire Suppression and alarm systems modernization (Metropolitan Opera).  
  • $750,000 for the Hudson River Habitat Enhancement Project (Hudson River Park Trust)
  • $1,680,000 for the Italian American Experience Permanent Exhibition Project (Italian American Museum)
  • $1,650,000 for behavioral health services, workforce training, and care coordination. (Maimonides Medical Center)
  • $700,000 for the Memorial Pools Energy Efficiency Retrofits Project (National September 11 Memorial & Museum)
  • $500,000 for the New Day at Federal Hall: Preserving and Presenting America's Rich and Diverse History Project (National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy)
  • $3,000,000 for the New-York Historical Society/American LGBTQ+ Museum Partnership Project (New York Historical Society)
  • $750,000 for the Pier 86: Replacement of Final Segment (Intrepid Museum Foundation)
  • $1,500,000 for the Planetarium Programming Development Project (American Museum of Natural History)
  • $3,800,000 for the Safety Improvement Project at NYCHA Developments (New York City Housing Authority)
  • $1,000,000 to rejuvenate an abandoned healthcare clinic on NYCHA property and restore services (Vision Urbana, Inc)

 

Authorizations and Programmatic Funding:

The FY 2023 spending bill includes $772 billion in non-defense funding, a $42 billion increase from FY 2022. It also provides $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and our NATO allies and $40.6 billion to assist communities across the country in recovering from drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, and other natural disasters. The legislation is a critical down payment on President Biden's promise to lower the cost of living for working families, support vulnerable populations, and create better-paying American jobs. Finally, the bill addresses some of our nation's biggest challenges by including funding and provisions to address the climate crisis and keep our democracy and communities safe.

  • Lower the Cost of Living Working Families: by expanding childcare and early learning programs to more working families, investing in America's K-12 public schools, and increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $500, the largest increase in a decade. The bill also increases funding for health services covered by Title X, including family planning. Support the Vulnerable: by meeting Americans' basic needs by strengthening nutrition assistance, funding more affordable housing by providing over $58 billion for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and strengthening the social safety net. Rep. Nadler led the House appropriations requests for Section 8 Housing and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program, both of which received funding increases from FY 2022. The bill also includes over $800 million for cities to provide shelter, food, and supportive services to individuals and families experiencing hunger or homelessness and deliver humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers. The bill also increases SNAP funding by $13.4 billion and includes provisions protecting beneficiaries from fraud. Finally, the bill provides a record $700 million for combatting violence against women.    
  • Create Better-Paying American Jobs: by creating and sustaining good-paying American jobs focusing on deploying clean energy technologies and the green jobs of tomorrow in communities across the country. The bill also includes significant investments in job training, apprenticeship programs, and worker protection and includes the first funding increase for the National Labor Relations Board since FY 2010.
  • Address the Climate Crisis: by including $15.3 billion—a one billion increase from 2022—to respond to the climate crisis by investing in research, development, demonstration, and deployment of clean energy and secure domestic energy supply chains. The bill includes funding and provisions that renew our nation's focus on environmental enforcement, pioneering funding for environmental justice, and historic investments in clean energy and climate science.
  • Keep Our Democracy and Communities Safe: the spending bill includes the Electoral Count Reform Act, which would safeguard the results of a presidential election. It also provides more resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasing funding for the National Institute of Health to strengthen lifesaving biomedical research and confronting urgent health crises–including maternal health, mental health, substance misuse, and gun violence.

A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

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