Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark voted Wednesday in favor of the Fiscal Year 2022 spending package and banning the import of Russian oil and energy products.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Clark, who serves Waltham and the rest of the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts, was instrumental in passing the spending package. The FY22 package includes critical support for Ukraine, expands child care and early learning programs, invests in green infrastructure, affordable housing, and higher education, and reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act.

“Democrats were elected to fight for the people and ensure that the government works for everyday Americans – that’s exactly what we did today,” said Clark in a statement. "I cast my vote on this funding package to ensure that every family has a fair shot at success through affordable child care, food and housing assistance, and the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The annual funding package also includes resources to support ten community projects within Massachusetts’ Fifth District, which are a direct response to the needs of our local community. This funding will bolster public transportation, clean our drinking water, and improve health care accessibility. Budgets are moral documents, and today we demonstrated that our focus is on working families and building a better America for everyone."

“I was also proud to vote for funding to help the people of Ukraine and to impose further sanctions against the Russian government,” she continued. "We are banning the import of all Russian oil and energy products, sending a clear message that the United States will not stand by while global peace and democracy are threatened and innocent lives are lost.”

Clark was able to secure the following as part of the spending package:

  • $24M for the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program

  • $6.5M for the screening and treatment of maternal mental health conditions

  • $6.2B for the Child Care and Development Block Grant and $11B for Head Start

  • $65M for the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools program

  • $575M for Violence Against Women Act programs

  • $52M to rapidly rehouse survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking

  • $25,000 new rental vouchers for low-income families

  • $3M for the PAWS Act shelter grant program

  • $1.241B for programs to support the safety and empowerment of women and girls around the world

  • Establishment of a Carbon Dioxide Removal Task Force

  • $104M for research, development, and demonstration of carbon dioxide removal technologies

  • $6M for a Center of Excellence on Offshore Wind Energy

  • $539.7M for DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programs

  • $774.4M for the Members Representational Allowance (MRA) to help recruit and retain a talented and diverse workforce within the Legislative Branch

  • $18.2M in funding for paid interns

The Community Projects funded in the Fifth District include:

  • Chris Walsh Aqueduct Trail Connectivity Project: $220,000

  • Wellington Greenway Phase IV: $500,000

  • Wonderland Multimodal Connector: $4,000,000

  • Hurld Park Green Infrastructure Project: $262,500

  • Mystic and Charles Regional Coastal Flood Interventions Project: $750,000

  • City of Malden for Lead Line Replacement Program: $3,360,000

  • City of Waltham for Waltham Embassy Parking Lot Project: $280,000

  • Charles River Watershed Association, Inc. for Charles River Flood Model: $400,000

  • Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, Inc., Worcester, MA for an interpreter services program: $1,000,000

  • Framingham State University, Framingham, MA for an early college program, including partnerships with middle schools and high schools: $600,000

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Original story HERE