The Peru Gazette

From the Office of Congressman Bill Owens

Bipartisan Compromise Includes Owens-authored Amendment to Halt Proposed Border Fee 

WASHINGTON—Today, Representative Bill Owens praised his colleagues for working together to pass a compromise omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014 that will eliminate the need for stop-gap funding bills for the first time in two years.

“I am pleased my colleagues were able to work together and pass a responsible spending bill that invests in many of the nation’s most important priorities while adhering to the bipartisan budget agreement reached in December,”Representative Bill Owens said. “Many of the 21^st Congressional District’s top priorities, including increased funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a measure I drafted that effectively kills a proposed border fee, were included in this bill. I am hopeful the bipartisanship that led to this compromise continues so we can concentrate on passing the Farm Bill and addressing the nation’s most pressing priorities: creating jobs and growing the economy.” 

The $1.1 trillion bipartisan agreement, which funds the federal government for Fiscal Year 2014, contains many of Rep. Owens’ top priorities. They include:

• An Owens-authored amendment to halt a proposed “border fee.” In its FY2014 budget request, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) included a proposal to study the viability of land border crossing fee. Believing the fee a bad idea that would hurt New York’s economy and the study of it a waste of taxpayer dollars, Owens authored an amendment that banned the expenditure of public money on a border fee collection study. 

• Increased funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers. The omnibus bill includes funding for 2,000 new CBP officers. New York’s 21^st Congressional District is home to 13 border crossings and adequate CBP staff-levels are critical to ensuring people and goods can quickly and safely cross between the United States and its largest trading partner, Canada. 

• Increased funding for the Northern Border Regional Commission. Congress created the NBRC to spur economic development in a 36-county region throughout New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In New York, the NBRC region includes 9 of the 21^st Congressional District’s 12 counties. The Commission provides grants for local infrastructure repairs, job training programs, tourism development projects and a number of other economic development programs. 

• Funds to maintain military readiness. The omnibus bill increases funds for military flying hours, soldier training and the repair of vital military equipment. The funding levels in the FY2014 budget dedicated to protecting military readiness is $11 billion higher than the amount that would have been possible under a full-year, stopgap spending measure. 

• A one-percent pay raise for service members and civilian Department of Defense Personnel. This is the first time in four years military personnel and the people that work hard to support them have received a raise. 

• Funds aimed at reducing the Veterans Affairs agency’s veterans claim backlog. The FY2014 bill includes funding for a program that will accelerate the transfer of DOD health care records so veterans get the health care they earned and deserve. 

• Increased TRICARE funding. The FY2014 bill increases TRICARE funding by $218 million in an effort to reduce veterans’ health care costs. 

• Funds to implement the Special Victims Counsel Program. The $25 million program will provide legal support to members of the Armed Forces who have been sexually assaulted. 

• Full funding for Head Start. The omnibus bill fully restores cuts made to the nation’s Head Start programs with a $612 million increase in Head Start funding from the sequester-level spending amount. 

• Measures that prevent the closure of rural post offices and the end of Saturday mail delivery. 

• Up to $300 million in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Initiative, which spans FY2010-FY2014, is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in 20 years. Rep. Owens co-introduced an amendment to protect the initiative from drastic cuts. The final funding level is a $16 million increase from the FY2013 sequester-level funding. 

• Critical funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The FY2014 agreement includes $3.425 billion for LIHEAP. That amount, which is an increase of $169 million, will help more than 8 million families afford to heat their homes. 

• Increased funding for agriculture agencies. The bill includes $1.178 billion in funding for the Farm Service Agency, which supports farmers and agricultural producers a number of ways, including by granting farm ownership and operating loans. The Agricultural Research Service, which invests in critical agriculture research programs across the country, received $1.122 million. 

Local economic developers also welcomed the compromise budget. Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said, “Nothing is more important to the North Country economy than fluidity at our border crossings, and that makes this increase in appropriations for U.S. Customs operations and an increase in personnel very welcome news.” Mr. Douglas is also the Co-Chair of the State’s North Country Regional Economic Development Council.“We had real reasons to fear that funding for our border crossings might actually be cut, given the lack of understanding and awareness about their economic importance amongst most members of Congress,” he said. “Last year’s proposals to impose a border crossing fee were a great example of this. But thanks to the leadership of Bill Owens and of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, the enormous importance of border efficiency to our economy is being duly reflected in the prioritization of appropriations. And inclusion of a specific ban on any future notions of a border crossing fee just adds to our ability to feel confident about all of our regional efforts to further build cross border tourism, shopping, business and investment.”