Senator Rosen Secured Major Provisions To Help Nevada Veterans, Address Housing Crisis, And Fight Mormon Crickets
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that she secured key priorities and funding wins for Nevada in the bipartisan government funding package that passed through the Senate. Senator Rosen secured funding to expand access to affordable housing, fight veteran homelessness, protect veterans’ access to ambulance and emergency transportation services, finish building a national veterans cemetery in Elko, facilitate the growth of rural and small businesses, support tele-health access for rural communities, and increase opportunities in STEM education for women and minorities from rural areas.
The Senate’s bipartisan government funding package includes two of Senator Rosen’s bipartisan amendments to increase funding for veterans’ access to telehealth and protect communities in Northern Nevada from the swarm of Mormon crickets. This package also includes Senator Rosen’s requests for funding for community and military construction projects across Nevada.
“The Senate’s government funding package includes bipartisan provisions to support our veterans, invest in military readiness, and protect Nevadans’ access to health care and affordable housing,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m particularly proud to have secured funding to support Nevada’s veterans by expanding telehealth services, fighting homelessness, and finishing the construction of Elko’s national veterans cemetery. I urge the House of Representatives to stop playing games, work together in a bipartisan way, and pass this government funding package without delay.”
Senator Rosen secured the following bipartisan wins in the Senate’s government funding package:
- Increased funding for veterans’ telehealth services provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs by $15 million, a $5.5 million increase over last year.
- Increased funding to help Nevada address the influx of Mormon cricket plaguing communities by 20 percent to $6 million.
Senator Rosen led or co-led efforts to secure the following provisions for Nevada in the Senate’s government funding package:
- Bipartisan provision requiring the VA to prioritize funds for telehealth and mental health programs in states with the highest rate of suicide among members of the Armed Forces and veterans.
- Bipartisan provision preventing the VA from significantly reducing their reimbursement rates for ambulance transportation services, protecting access to critical emergency care for veterans in rural communities.
- Bipartisan provision restoring funding for the USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production, which provides support to urban and small-scale agriculture producers.
- $553,000 for continued work building a national veterans cemetery in Elko.
- $30 million for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (HUD-VASH), which provides affordable housing vouchers to help homeless veterans.
- $168 million for NeighborWorks America, which helps create opportunities for Americans to live in affordable homes.
- $37 million for Rural Business Development Grants, which support the development and growth of rural small and emerging businesses through planning, technical assistance, job training, and other business development needs.
- $60 million for grants through USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine program, which helps rural communities use advanced telecommunications technology to connect to each other and the world.
- $2 million for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which supports increasing the number of women and minorities from rural areas in STEM fields.
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