House Passes Bipartisan Government Funding Package Including Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s Measures To Crack Down On Big Tobacco, Improve Baby Food Safety, And Support Local Community Projects

WASHINGTON – Last night, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi joined his colleagues in voting to pass the twelve-bill omnibus package, funding the federal government through FY2022, preventing a government shutdown and advancing a range of provisions championed by the Congressman. The overall legislative package will provide emergency aid to help the Ukrainian people drive back Vladimir Putin's barbaric invasion while supporting broader American national security operations and making crucial investments in safety-net programs providing pathways to opportunity for American students, workers, businesses, and families. This legislation will be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Biden later this week. A detailed summary of the legislation is available here.

"I was proud to join my colleagues in passing this essential legislation to strengthen our economy and expand access to opportunity for millions of Americans here at home as we also provided critical aid to Ukraine as it fights for the freedom of its own people," said Congressman Krishnamoorthi. "Beyond keeping our government running and strengthening numerous critical programs, I'm also glad I was able to secure the inclusion of a range of provisions I championed to protect American consumers, support our national security, grow our economy, and provide critical funding for community programs in my district."

Bipartisan provisions championed by Congressman Krishnamoorthi in the legislative package included measures to crack down on big tobacco, improve the safety of baby food, strengthen our national security, support renewable energy, and invest in our workforce. In November, Congressman Krishnamoorthi launched an investigation into the production and sale of synthetic nicotine by tobacco companies as a regulatory loophole to evade Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public health protections. Last night, Congressman Krishnamoorthi and his colleagues succeeded in closing this loophole through the passage of provisions based on his Clarifying Authority Over Nicotine Act of 2021 to ensure the FDA can regulate synthetic nicotine as they would any other nicotine product. Similarly, Congressman Krishnamoorthi addressed another public health need through helping to secure $29.5 billion for the FDA's food safety activities, including the "Closer to Zero" program to address the dangers of neurotoxins in baby food, which he exposed through his investigation last year.

In addition to spearheading the inclusion of these public health and animal welfare measures, the House also passed Congressman Krishnamoorthi's Gathering and Reporting Assessments Yielding Zero Overlooked Nefarious Efforts (GRAY ZONE) Act and his Monitoring China-UAE Cooperation Act. The GRAY ZONE Act would require the intelligence community to conduct additional research on the security threats posed by "gray zone activities" – actions that fall between ordinary statecraft and open warfare, such as disinformation campaigns or terrorist financing – which have been increasingly embraced by Russia, the People's Republic of China, and nonstate actors. In a similar vein, the Monitoring China-UAE Cooperation Act would specifically address the risks of the Chinese Communist Party seizing American technology through U.S. joint ventures with the United Arab Emirates.

The appropriations package also contains funding Congressman Krishnamoorthi fought for to reduce soft costs for the solar sector, those costs outside of hardware such as permitting and installation. Finally, Congressman Krishnamoorthi helped secure $2.1 billion in funding for the career and technical education programs established and reformed by the landmark Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act, which he authored.

Beyond his policy provisions which were included in the government funding package, Congressman Krishnamoorthi secured $3,160,000 in Community Project Funding for the 8^th District of Illinois to address some of the most pressing needs of 8^th District communities. The 9 projects Congressman Krishnamoorthi championed the funding for include:

• $150,000 for Village of Hoffman Estates Domestic Violence Project
• $1,000,000 for HIRE360 Business Development Center
• $200,000 for National Parkway and Higgins Road (IL 72) Pedestrian Signal Improvements
• $225,000 for Wood Dale Public Library District, Wood Dale, IL for early childhood learning
• $340,000 for Village of Schaumburg, Schaumburg, IL for a mobile response unit for mental health and substance misuse
• $500,000 for YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, IL, for early childhood learning
• $140,000 for Access Community Health Network, Chicago, IL for behavioral health and supportive services
• $80,000 for Salt Creek School District 48, Villa Park, IL, for an afterschool program
• $250,000 for WINGS Program Inc., Rolling Meadows, IL for facilities and equipment