Rep. Soto Legislative Wins for Central Florida in Omnibus Funding Bill (Report Language)

The recently passed Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1625), which allocates government funding for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018, includes the following important report language priorities included by Rep. Darren Soto, benefiting Central Floridians:

COMBATTING VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

• Encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify ways to obtain more accurate data on homeless and at-risk veterans in rural areas. (report here)
• Requires military construction, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and related agencies to build smaller housing units for rural homeless veterans. (report here)

ENVIRONMENT

• Recognizes the importance of finding antimicrobial crop protection tools in combating citrus greening and continues to support the Environmental Protection Agency's cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Multi-Agency Coordination Group. (report here)
• Encourages the Department of Agriculture to develop innovative vector control technologies to combat Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitos. Also, it requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to maintain an online guide for use by States and local communities with a full scope of vector control options, tools, and other factors to consider as they develop plans to carry out vector control activities to control Zika and other related diseases carried by insects, and to update the guidelines annually. (Vector control report here, Guide report here)
• Directs the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to either continue or expand its education and outreach efforts through the WIC program to provide pregnant women with the information they need to prevent Zika. (report here)
• Requires the Department of Defense to report vulnerability assessments resulting from climate-related coastal erosion, a description of the adaptation strategies developed for vulnerable installations, and the estimated costs associated with implementing these strategies. (report here)
• Encourages water conservation projects on military installations that are not solely contingent on cost savings, but also take into account reduced water use. Also requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on how to conserve water in the future. (report here)
• Commends the work that CDC is doing to conduct surveillance for and report health concerns related to harmful algal blooms and urges CDC to continue this work and (1) provide more outreach to State and local public health officials to use these surveillance and reporting systems, and (2) work with other agencies, including EPA, NOAA, and USGS, to integrate disparate sets of data to allow for a broader understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the environmental and health impacts of harmful algal blooms. (report here)

ENERGY

• Encourages the Department of Defense to consider Energy Conservation Investment Program project selection criteria that also prioritizes installations' energy resiliency and security. (report here)
• Encouraging a more efficient energy policy at the Department of Defense. The Department and services should engage with government, industry, and academia to identify and utilize innovative technologies to reduce long-term energy costs, limit the constraints of energy and water resources on military mission capabilities and readiness, and meet federally mandated goals for renewable energy generation and water efficiency. The Committee encourages the development of net-zero energy military housing and installation facilities, upgrades and retrofits for improved energy and water efficiency, and microgrid demonstrations. The Committee supports the Department's investments in microgrid energy security and encourages the Department to continue to explore ways to mitigate the risk to mission critical assets and promote energy independence at military installations through the Energy Resilience Conservation Investment Program. (report here)
• Encourages the Department of Energy to research high efficiency thin-film photovoltaics and to find ways to expand access to solar energy to residences and businesses in low-income communities. (report here)

INCREASING SUPPORT FOR VETERANS

• Therapeutic benefits of farming – Encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate with the Dept. of Defense and Dept. of Agriculture to identify and promote vocational training in agriculture-related fields, behavioral health services and if possible a pathway to employment in agriculture-related fields. (report here)
• Veterans' History Project – Encourages the library of congress to do outreach with schools, and girls and boy scout programs to collect stories for the veterans history project. (report here)
• Trauma Management Therapy – Encourages the use of modeling and simulation technology for the treatment of trauma management therapy. This is part of the RESTORES program at the University of Central Florida that helps treat veterans who suffer with PTSD. (report here)
• The Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – Improving cancer research and treatment for all service members through the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, part of the ORIEN network. (report here)

PRIORITIES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES

• Puerto Rico – Directs the Treasury Department to provide a report to the Congress describing how the Department has used its authority to provide technical assistance to Puerto Rico in FY 2017 and how it plans to use it in FY18. (report here)

• Identity Theft – Requires a report from the IRS that covers 2010-2017 on the number of taxpayers who have had their tax return rejected because their Social Security or taxpayer identification number was improperly used by another individual to commit tax fraud; the average time to resolve the situation and provide innocent taxpayers with their refund, when a refund is due; and the number of cases involving taxpayer identification numbers of residents of the territories. The report will also include a discussion on IRS's progress and plans to expedite resolution for these taxpayers, to prevent non-victims from becoming victims, to educate the public on the threat of identity theft, and to detect, prevent, and combat identity based tax fraud and actions. (report here)
• Territories and Tribal Lands Broadband – Encourages the FCC to implement policies that increase broadband access and adoption in the areas. (report here)

PRIORITIES IN LABOR/HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

• Education for Homeless Children and Youth – Recognizes that without an education, these at-risk children and youth are unlikely to obtain the skills they need to become productive adults contributing to the economy and their communities. Directs that grants are allocated to states in proportion to the total each state receives under the Title I program. (report here)

• Technical Assistance and Dissemination – For special education IDEA National Activities: this program provides funding for technical assistance, demonstration projects, and information dissemination. Directs these funds to support efforts by State and local educational agencies, IHEs, and other entities to build State and local capacity to make systemic changes and improve results for children with disabilities. Funds are included to fully support continuation costs for grants made in prior years. (report here)

PRIORITIES IN SFOP & LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

• Expanded public diplomacy efforts to counter Russian propaganda. (report here)
• Encourages the Library of Congress to increase cooperative partnership, fellowship opportunities, and curriculum with community colleges, HBCUs and HSIs. (report here)