Today, President Trump signed into law a bipartisan spending bill that included priorities championed by U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 will fund the federal government for the remainder of the 2018 fiscal year.
“The bipartisan spending bill contained many of my priorities that will benefit and invest in Pennsylvania families and workers,” said Rep. Cartwright, an Appropriations Committee member. “I am happy to report that, once again, the omnibus included language from my Wage Grade ParityAct. This bill provides federal civilian workers – like those at Tobyhanna - with a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), giving them an increase in pay that they greatly deserve. I am also happy to report that additional language from my bill, language to protect Tobyhanna jobs from being outsourced, was also included in the omnibus spending package.”
The spending bill included the following provisions:
Language from the Wage Grade Parity Act, which provides for 1.9% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for federal workers;
Language prohibiting A-76 studies, which review the possibility of outsourcing federal civilian jobs like those at the Tobyhanna Army Depot;
$155 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), which works with Appalachian states to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life;
Report language supporting the Economic Development Administration (EDA)’s Assistance to Coal Communities program, which works to help communities affected by the decline of the coal industry;
$18 million to support the important maintenance work that Army Depots, like Tobyhanna, provide to the military;
$115 million to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, which helps eliminate dangerous conditions and pollution caused by past coal mining;
$300 million for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program, which helps states and localities with economic development and community revitalization for low-income families (the Meals on Wheels program is housed under CDBG); and
$3.64 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families pay for energy costs associating with heating and air-conditioning. This is a $250 million increase over fiscal year 2017 and the highest funding level for the block grant since fiscal year 2011.
