On March 16, I’ll also be joining Elgin Community College (ECC) for an event celebrating the $936,000 in federal funding I secured for ECC to launch its new Mechatronics/Automation Certificate program. The new initiative will train, reskill, and upskill students while supporting our local businesses and economy. Through collaboration with industry partners and local school districts, ECC will help prepare college-age and adult students in our area with the skills they need for family-sustaining careers through the latest education in in-demand technical skills. The commemoration of the grant will begin at 8:45am on Thursday, March 16 and you can RSVP here.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has just announced that the Committee will begin accepting requests for Community Project Funding for the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process. Community Project Funding enables Members of Congress to direct federal spending towards specific projects and programs that address the most significant needs facing our communities. The deadline for all appropriations requests submission to my office is March 17, 2023, by 5pm CT/6pm EST.

I am proud that 15 projects in our district that I nominated through this process last year were approved for funding, bringing over $13.6 million in support for critical local projects such as job training, after-school programs, and initiatives combating both drug addiction and domestic violence.

This year my office is permitted to submit 15 requests, and we hope to bring home even more federal funding to the 8th District. Only state, local, and tribal governments; publicly owned entities; and certain non-profit entities are eligible for Community Project Funding. Projects must apply for specific federal funding accounts within a specific federal agency, and not all federal funding accounts are eligible. Applicants will also need to demonstrate strong community support for the proposed project.

Please be aware that this year, the new Republican majority on the House Appropriations Committee has made projects in the following accounts ineligible to receive Community Project Funding: 

• The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee (LHHS)
• The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee (FSGG)

All requests must be submitted to my office by 5pmCT/6pmEST on Friday, March 17, 2023. You can learn more about the application process here and join my office’s briefing on the CPF application process at 12:00pmCT on Thursday, March 9, 2023 here.

Last week, I joined Reps. Young Kim (R-CA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) in introducing the bipartisan Understanding the True Cost of College Act. Our legislation would streamline the process families and students depend on to navigate financial aid at a time when 90 percent of colleges and universities underestimate the cost of attending school, according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. This leaves students and families unable to accurately assess and compare the cost of college to their budgets and other schools. Our bill would improve financial aid transparency by standardizing forms and establishing requirements for information that schools will provide to perspective students and families. Anyone seeking to continue their education should be able to rely upon the best available information on how much it will cost, and I am hopeful the House will take up our bipartisan legislation soon.

The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter here, my Facebook page here, and my Instagram here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community. 

P.S. I always enjoy hearing from constituents, so feel free to comment and share my social media posts! Here are the links: Twitter here, Facebook page here, and Instagram here.