[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 45 (Monday, March 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Consolidated Appropriations Act

  Madam President, now on the omni, the omnibus budget, I want to 
revisit the groundbreaking omnibus package that the Senate passed last 
week with bipartisan support, which fully and robustly funds the 
government through the end of the 2022 fiscal year.
  As I said on Thursday, this year's bipartisan budget bill is one of 
the boldest and most significant packages that we have seen passed 
through the Congress in a long, long time. It is a deal just 
overflowing with good news for American families looking to cut costs 
and make ends meet. Let me highlight just a few ways this bill will 
lower costs in the coming months.
  For working Americans struggling with energy costs, this year's 
budget increases domestic investments that help people pay their 
heating and air-conditioning bills. Utility costs have always fallen 
hardest on those least able to bear them, and I am glad this year we 
are increasing the help we provide working families to pay for their 
utilities.
  We are also boosting funding for child nutrition programs by 7 
percent compared to 2021 so kids don't go to school on an empty stomach 
or go through summer school uncertain about what or if they are going 
to eat.
  Working parents will also get a break. We are dramatically increasing 
the amount dedicated to childcare assistance, making it easier for 
parents to reenter the workplace and earn a paycheck without having to 
worry about paying to take care of their kids.
  Head Start Programs will see more resources to help them prepare 
young kids to thrive in the classroom. Funding for title I-A grants, 
which help more than half our Nation's public schools boost student 
performance, will receive the largest increase in a decade.
  College students, meanwhile, will see the largest increase in Pell 
grant maximums since the 2009-2010 academic year--a desperately needed 
injection of funding.
  These investments only scratch the surface. From housing assistance 
to help with energy costs, to aid for the elderly and our veterans and 
investments in child nutrition, this year's funding package will drive 
down costs for parents, students, the elderly, and small business. 
Because both sides were able to work in good faith, American families 
will see more help come their way through the annual funding bill than 
they have seen in a long, long time.

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