News

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2019 (FY19) Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill, which includes key funding and language provisions advanced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) that are critical for the implementation of the STOP School Violence Act and protecting Florida’s environment. 
Rubio Provisions in FY19 CJS Appropriations Bill:

• $100 million to implement the STOP School Violence Act, which provides grants to states and localities to help our schools implement proven, evidence-based programs and technologies that identify and stop school violence before it happens.
• $5.483 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
  • Report language provisions related to Gulf Reef Fish, Exempted Fishing Permits for Red Snapper Fishing, South Atlantic Reef Fish, Fishing Gear Selectivity Study, the Marine Recreational Information Program.
  • Report language related to the Coral Reef Program, and providing up to $5 million for the agency to work with academic institutions and non-governmental research organizations to establish innovation restoration projects to restore degraded coral reefs.
  • Report language and $5 million to accelerate deployment of effective methods of intervention and mitigation to reduce the frequency, severity, and impact of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in freshwater systems. The report language encourages the agency to expand its collaboration with states to monitor, predict, track, and respond to HABs in the marine environment, and $1 million to expand existing support for states to assess domoic acid levels of HAB species in marine environment.
  • $1 million increase for the NOAA’s Marine Debris Program, including report language directing attention to waterway cleanup efforts in communities significantly impacted by hurricanes in 2017.
  • $27.5 million for the National Estuarine Research Reserve Systems, which may be used by Rookery Bay, Guana Tolomato Matanzas, and Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserves in Florida.
  • An addition $1 million within the Marine Mammals account to increase research and monitoring of the North Atlantic right whales.
  • $71 million for the National Sea Grant College Program.
  • $12 million for marine aquaculture research.
  • Report language related to National Weather Service’s storm surge modeling technology, directing the agency to expanding existing collaborations with research universities and to integrate improved technologies into standard modeling operations for storm surge and inland flooding.
  • $35.75 million for NOAA’s Office of Marine Aviation Operations .
  • $140 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
  • $305.5 million for the Economic Development Administration, including $25 million for the Regional Innovation Program.
  • $3.82 billion for the Bureau of the Census to carry out 2020 Decennial Census.
  • National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST):
    • $140 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program to continue its work enhancing the productivity and capability of small and medium sized manufacturers.
    • $5 million for the establishment of a consortium between NIST and public and private sector entities for the purpose of advancing the fields of quantum science and engineering.
    • Report language encouraging NIST to collaborate with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Experimental Facilities and providing funding for competitive external awards focused on multi-hazard, pre-impact risk mitigation, and post-impact disaster studies.
    • $1 million for National Institute of Justice to continue to develop a model and best practices for comprehensive school safety.
    • $2.87 billion for state and local law enforcement and crime prevention grant programs, including:
      • $445 million for Byrne JAG grant program.
      • $214.5 million for initiatives to address sexual assault kit and other DNA evidence backlogs.
      • $360 million for Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) programs, including $102.5 million in support for Drug Courts and Veterans Treatment Courts to further combat the opioid and heroin epidemic.
        • Senator Rubio cosponsored the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which was signed into law in 2016
• $32 million for COPS Office Anti-Heroin Task Forces grants.
• $8 million for COPS Office Anti-Methamphetamine Task Forces grants.
• $91.6 million for the Innocent Images National Initiative to target and investigate sexual predators on the Internet, and increases funding for cybersecurity activities to neutralize, mitigate, and disrupt illegal computer-supported operations.
• $21.3234 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
  • $5.3387 billion for NASA’s Exploration Account, including:
    • $2.15 billion for Space Launch System and concurrent Exploration Upper State development.
    • $1.35 billion for Orion.
    • $820.9 million for Exploration Ground Systems ($795 million for EGS, and $255 million for construction of a second mobile launch platform and associated SLS activities), which is housed at Kennedy Space Center.
    • $116,500,000 to support the development of a range of lunar lander technologies for future lunar missions and future exploration into deep space.
• $5.3387 billion for NASA’s Space Operations Account, including:
  • $1,935,600 for the delivery of cargo and payments for current and future crew services to the ISS.
  • $173.1 million for commercial crew operations to support launches to and from the ISS.
  • $30,000,000 to support small launch vehicle development that will increase participation in the small launch market and lower small launch costs.
  • Supports funding ISS past 2025.
• Report language provisions, including:
  • Provides additional $820,900,000 for grounds systems related funding and $255,000,000 for construction of a second mobile launch platform to ensure grounds systems upgrades remain on track and support the earliest possible crewed launch of SLS.
  • Includes language directing NASA to promote new grant opportunities that will further support scientific research within a microgravity environment on the ISS to provide increased research opportunities for universities and other interested entities.
  • Supports NASA’s efforts to develop Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms and encourages NASA to collaborate with other agencies, including NOAA, to expand efforts in support of hurricane forecast modeling.
  • $1.965 million for the National Space Council.
  • $8.069 billion for the National Science Foundation.

FY19 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations:

• Language restricting funds from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation or other high risk information systems.
• Restores budget cuts for Everglades restoration, including $83,000 for Everglades restoration under the National Park Services’ Resource Stewardship account, more than $3 million under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service budget, and more than $6 million under the U.S. Geological Survey budget.
• Report language highlighting the coral disease outbreak on the Florida Reef Tract and encouraging the Department of the Interior’s cooperation with other federal, state, and local partners to support coral monitoring, research, and restoration efforts in highly impacted and high priority coral reef habitats in U.S. waters including Biscayne National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park.
• Report language to support more external research into the control and prevention of harmful algal blooms.
• $2 million for land acquisition for Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge.
• $2 million for land acquisition for St. Mark National Wildlife Refuge.
• Up to $1.5 million provided under the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for coral disease research detection and response.
• Report language related to exotic plant management in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and up to $10 million in funding towards control of invasive species, with an emphasis on agency activities in the Everglades. 
• Report language encouraging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to expedite completion of biological opinions for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), including suggested deadlines of no later than Sept. 13, 2018 for the New Water Phase and no later than Feb. 2, 2019 for the South Phase. 
• Report language directing the USGS to prioritize research, detection, and response efforts on invasive species with extremely high impacts on public lands and natural resources, including Burmese Pythons in the Florida Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp.
• $93.724 million for the USFWS Species Recovery Program (an increase of $2.692 million), and report language related to meeting recovery effort needs of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Program.
• Report language encouraging the work USGS is performing in critical landscapes, such as the Everglades, to continue.
• Report language related to USFWS’ National Fish Habitat Partnership Program.
• $65.6 million for USFWS’ State Tribal and Wildlife Grants (a $2 million increase).
• Report language related to CITES Flora permitting process.
• $1.707 million for Marine Turtle Conservation Fund (an increase of $200,000).
• $43 million for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (an increase of $3 million).
• Report language related to 3D Elevation Program and enhanced LIDAR technologies for USGS mapping efforts.
• A $3 million increase for USFWS law enforcement activities.
• $3.204 million (nearly double FY18 levels) for the South Florida Geographic Program with dedicated funding of at least—
  • $500,000 to monitor coral health in South Florida
  • $500,000 to enhance water quality and seagrass monitoring in the Caloosahatchee Estuary and Indian River Lagoon especially with respect to assessing the impact of Lake Okeechobee discharges; and
  • $500,000 to enhance water quality and seagrass monitoring in Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay especially with respect to assessing the impact of Everglades Restoration projects.
  • $1.694 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF).
  • $1.164 billion for the Drinking Water SRF.
  • $63 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA).
  • $26.723 million for the National Estuary Program (NEP), including support for Florida four NEPs at Charlotte Harbor, Indian River Lagoon, Sarasota, and Tampa Bay.
  • $15 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Rural Water Technical Assistance (a $2.3 million increase), including $1.7 million for technical assistance grants.
  • $713.823 million for EPA’s Science and Technology programs, including research grants for preventing and controlling harmful algal blooms
  • Report language supporting creation of the Museum of the American Latino within the Smithsonian Institution.
  • $2.3 million under the Forest Legacy Program for land acquisition for the Keystone Longleaf Preserve.

FY19 Legislative Branch Appropriations:

• Language restricting funds from being used to purchase telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation or other high risk information systems.
• Strong funding for cybersecurity efforts.