Connecticut is set to receive millions of dollars in funding for local projects that are part of the first tranche of bills to fund the federal government — with likely more on the way if Congress negotiates and passes the second round later this month.
The U.S. Senate took the final step on Friday to approve a package of bills to fund six of 12 government agencies and avoid a partial shutdown. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law. Federal lawmakers need to pass funding for the remaining six by March 22.
All but one member of Connecticut’s congressional delegation voted for the $460 billion package. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., ultimately opposed it because of a change it would make to the national background checks system related to purchasing firearms.
As part of the appropriations bills, members in both chambers can submit requests to direct funding for priorities and pet projects in their states and districts, formerly known as earmarks. Billions of dollars were approved for earmarks in the first tranche and make up less than 3% of the total funding package.
So far, Connecticut’s delegation has secured about $138 million in funding, with more expected in the next package of bills. That includes earmarks for about 140 projects across the state for infrastructure and environmental investments, social services for families and children, affordable housing and funds for police departments.
Towns and cities saw a monthslong delay of earmarked funding because Congress had been unable to pass appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024. Lawmakers instead approved several short-term bills, known as continuing resolutions, to keep the government running until they negotiated a spending deal in recent weeks.
More broadly, the legislation funds six agencies including: agriculture; commerce; energy; interior; military construction and veterans affairs; and transportation and housing. A major priority for Connecticut Democrats that made it into the bill is full funding for nutrition programs that are used by millions of low-income families.
“This package does not reflect every one of our priorities, but I am proud that in a divided country, we were able to work across the aisle to get this done for the American people,” said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, who is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, which helps craft government funding bills.
“Through this bill, we are relieving American families of burdensome inflation, and we are looking out for the most vulnerable with full funding for programs like nutrition assistance,” she added. “We invest in green energy and climate research, protect women from government intrusion into their reproductive health care decisions, and reaffirm our commitments to supporting America’s war heroes.”
Local boost in federal funding
More than 60 towns and cities in Connecticut will see investments flow into their communities. Additional localities could be included in the second batch of earmarks, which could also include even more funding for places that already secured money for projects.
So far, Hartford and New Haven are set to receive the most funding for projects including upgrades for museums like the Mark Twain House and Memorial and the Connecticut Science Center, social services groups that address homelessness and domestic violence, and funds for after-school programs at local Boys & Girls Clubs.
Overall, the earmarks are spread out and reach the farthest corners of the state including Salisbury, Stonington and Thompson.
More than two-thirds of this batch will go toward infrastructure and transportation projects, while the remainder largely falls under economic development, social services, housing, energy and the environment.
Some of the highest-funded projects so far include: $4 million for improvements on Temple Street in New Haven; $3.6 million to help complete the Hop River State Park Trail around Coventry and Columbia; $4.5 million for upgrades to Mill River Park in Stamford; $3.2 million to repair a dike leak in Meriden; and $3 million for the construction of a new social services center in New Haven.
Housing projects will also see a sizable boost from this bill, particularly for affordable housing and homeless shelters. That includes investments to renovate a 12-unit affordable supportive housing apartment building in New Milford, repairs to 14 affordable housing units in Washington and funds to create housing in Waterbury, Winchester and Barkhamsted as well as in Windham and New London counties.
A handful of police departments will also see some funding. Madison will get a pot of money to hire a social worker, while departments in Guilford and Hamden will receive funds to upgrade their communications network and equipment.
Earmarks, now known in the House as community project funding and in the Senate as congressionally-directed spending, have been back for a few years after a 10-year ban. Many lawmakers see them as direct ways of reaching their communities as well as wielding more influence during the appropriations process.
Others, mainly Republicans, have a negative connotation of earmarks, viewing them as extraneous measures for pet projects that balloon congressional spending. Though many GOP members still submit earmarks despite plans to vote against the bill.
Lawmakers and their immediate families must certify they have no financial ties to their requests. Government and nonprofit entities can receive funding, but for-profits are ineligible. House members can request up to 15 projects, but there is no cap on the number for senators. Many requests are made jointly by senators and House members.
In the last spending bill that ran out at the end of last September, members secured a total of $236 million for more than 170 projects across Connecticut. It is unclear if lawmakers will exceed those numbers once the government is fully funded later this month.
Other CT priorities
The first government spending package includes other priorities for Connecticut's delegation like $2.4 billion for Amtrak — with part of the money going toward enhancements on the Northeast Corridor — and $680 million to preserve the Long Island Sound.
The bill gives a $1 billion increase to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, bringing the new funding total to over $7 billion. More than 40,000 Connecticut residents use WIC benefits.
During negotiations, a House Republican pushed to tie more WIC funding to a voluntary pilot program that would place more limits on what people using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could purchase and would cut out more processed foods. But that did not make it into the final deal.
The legislation also included mandatory funding of $119 million for the SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps, as well as other nutrition assistance.
"Child nutrition programs will receive $33 billion in funding, including $10 million for school breakfast equipment grants and $5 million for the Farm to School program. This is a major victory in the fight to combat child hunger," said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, who is the ranking member of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, also noted that the legislation secures funding for projects at the Naval Submarine Base New London that he pushed for alongside others in the delegation.
But it was the inclusion of a gun policy that was a nonstarter for Murphy. It was added into one of the bills through a GOP amendment. Republicans applauded it as a way to ensure veterans do not lose their gun rights, while critics like Murphy worry about the risks it poses.
The provision would make a change so the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would no longer notify the National Instant Criminal Background Check System if veterans need help with finances and benefits. If they are showing up during a background check as mentally incompetent or impaired, they would not be able to purchase a firearm.
Under the bill, the VA can’t report them to NICS "without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others."
Murphy said he tried to get the measure removed from the bill, but it ultimately remained in the final version. He voiced concerns about what it would mean for veterans with severe mental illnesses, arguing that they are "a population that is especially vulnerable to suicide."
"My feeling is that we should not be trading away damaging gun policy. That should be a bottom line for Democrats," Murphy said in an interview.
Murphy said there are other parts of the legislation he supports, including the funding for nutrition programs as well as the dozens of earmarks he requested.
"The bill has lots of good things in it," he said. "These are tough decisions."
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
