House-approved spending bill includes funding for CNY projects, Katko announces

Ten Central New York projects are among those funded in the fiscal year 2022 spending plan that the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Wednesday.

The bill moves on to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.

The projects will promote public safety, help the local health-care system, protect Lake Ontario’s southern shoreline, reduce homelessness, expand access to clean drinking water, and combat the opioid epidemic. The funding for those project totals about $9 million, the office of U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) announced Thursday.

Besides those projects, this measure includes funding for “essential” federal programs, along with additional funding to implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and legislation that Katko authored to “significantly bolster” U.S. cybersecurity, the Republican’s office said.

The bill provides for a $42 billion increase in defense spending while also supporting manufacturers and workers in Central New York. It also includes $13.6 billion in security assistance and humanitarian aid to help Ukraine respond to Russia’s invasion.

The bill that the U.S. House of Representatives approved funds the following programs or projects, per Katko’s office:

• $3 million for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Syracuse to construct an 80-bed homeless shelter
• $3 million for Oswego County to modernize the wastewater-treatment facility in the Village of Phoenix
• $1 million for Onondaga County to develop a state-of-the-art emergency operations center
• $500,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the Great Lakes coastal resiliency study
• $260,000 for Loretto Health and Rehabilitation Center to acquire necessary equipment and software to implement an electronic medical record (EMR) system
• $250,000 for Oswego County to implement a “Rides to Recovery” pilot program for children and families impacted by the opioid epidemic
• $180,000 for Newark-Wayne Hospital to purchase updated defibrillators
• $160,000 for the Village of Aurora to replace aging pumps and intake pipes at the Wells College water plant
• $140,000 for the City of Syracuse to purchase body-worn cameras for 14 uniformed police sergeants
• $75,000 for Cayuga County to upgrade the county’s emergency operations center