Omnibus spending bill included millions for Eagle County mental health, trails, water

Late last month, the office of Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet issued the below press release on his yes vote on the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus funding bill, which included significant federal dollars for Eagle County projects.

The corresponding Senate committee approved $2.705 million for Vail Health’s Inpatient Behavioral Health Facility, $2 million for the Town of Minturn for a Water Treatment Plant, and $2 million for the Eagle Valley Trail.

Here’s the press release from Bennet’s office:

Washington, D.C. –– Today (Dec. 21), Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet announced that he secured over $119 million for 82 Colorado projects in the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) omnibus funding bill through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process. Overall, Colorado will welcome $178 million for Colorado projects this year. 

The Senate released the text of the omnibus earlier today and is expected to pass the bill later this week. The bill will then head to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

“From upgrading water infrastructure to increasing access to affordable housing to investing in minority-owned businesses, these projects will help meet the needs of Coloradans and continue our work of building an economy that works for everyone and every community,” said Bennet. “For the second year in a row, this process has empowered Coloradans to tell Congress directly about the challenges their communities face and how Washington can be a better partner. I’m pleased to help bring this funding to over eighty projects across our state.” 

In addition to 82 Congressionally Directed Spending projects in Colorado, Bennet also secured funding for major Colorado priorities, including:

·        $5 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). 

·        $1.93 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation, including $186 million to fund Western drought programs under the WIIN Act. 

·        $941 million for the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s conservation operations. 

·        $900 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, including $8 million for the Rio Grande National Forest and $3.4 million for the Pike and San Isabel National Forest.

·        $748 million for the Colorado River Water Quality Improvement project. 

·        $515 million for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program to offset lost property tax revenue to counties with significant federal lands. 

·        $324 million for COPS Hiring grants to support the hiring of approximately 1800 officers nationwide.

·        $225 million to address PFAS contamination on military bases and in neighboring communities.

·        $160 million for NREL facilities and infrastructure, a $20 million increase from FY22. 

·        $20 million for University Consortium for Space Technology research. 

·        $14 million for a Fire Station Support Building at Fort Carson.

·        $10.1 million for the Arkansas Valley Conduit.

·        $505,000 for the Amache National Historic Site operations and 5 full staff. 

The 82 projects Bennet helped secure in the FY23 omnibus funding bill include:

PROJECT	RECIPIENT	LOCATION	AMOUNT	REQUESTED BY
Access to Justice Initiatives for Rural Colorado	Colorado Access to Justice Commission	Statewide	$627,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Affordable Housing Modular Factory	City of Boulder Department of Housing & Human Services	Boulder, CO	$506,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Archway Communities Park Hill Campus Rehabilitation	Archway Housing & Services	Denver, CO	$3,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
AuMHC Acute Care Center Construction	Aurora Community Mental Health Center	Aurora, CO	$2,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, Crow
Beulah Water Works District for Raw Water Storage	Beulah Water  Works District	Beulah, CO	$380,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Black Economic Opportunity	AYA Foundation	Denver, CO	$145,000	Bennet
Building Apprenticeship Pathways in Education and Health Care	CareerWise	Statewide	$1,500,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado Truck Package	Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado	Statewide	$1,050,000	Bennet
Career Pathways Program for Essential Frontline Healthcare Workers in Colorado	Banner Health Foundation	Larimer, Logan, Morgan, and Weld Counties	$717,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Central Corridor Rail Replacement	Regional Transportation District (RTD)	Denver, CO	$4,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, DeGette
Chaffee County North-End Public Safety Complex	Chaffee County Government	Buena Vista, CO	$1,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Child Advocacy Center for the Pikes Peak Region Co-Location Capital Campaign	Children’s Advocacy Center for the Pikes Peak Region (DBA Safe Passage)	Colorado Springs, CO	$360,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Child and Youth Behavioral Health Workforce Pathway Initiative	Children’s Hospital Colorado	Aurora, CO	$668,313	Bennet, Hickenlooper, Crow
City of Aurora for a Waterline Replacement Program	City of Aurora	Aurora, CO	$2,800,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, Crow
City of Delta for North Delta Waterline Replacement	City of Delta	Delta County	$380,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Clarion Inn Hotel	Colorado  Coalition for the Homeless	Denver, CO	$4,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, DeGette
Clean Energy for Facilities Project	City of Northglenn, CO	Northglenn, CO	$800,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Cleo Parker Campus Expansion	Cleo Parker Robinson Dance	Denver, CO	$1,000,000	Bennet
Clifton Community Campus Early Childhood Education Training Center	Mesa County	Clifton, CO	$2,500,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Colorado State Forest Service for Creating Resilient Forests in Colorado	Colorado State Forest Service	Statewide	$3,464,000	Bennet
Conejos Cooperative Project Reservoir	Bureau of Reclamation	Antonito, CO	$3,000,000	Bennet
Craig Energy Center Feasibility Study	Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Inc.	Craig, CO	$200,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, Perlmutter
Creating a Housing and Services Hub for Youth and Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness: Renovation and Expansion of The Source	TGTHR	Boulder, CO	$2,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Denver and Arapahoe Disposal Site Renewable Natural Gas	City and County of Denver	Aurora, CO	$150,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Denver District Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Unit Project	Denver Mayor’s Office	Denver, CO	$178,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
DPL Youth Empowerment Center	The City and County of Denver	Denver, CO	$750,000	Bennet, DeGette
Denver Sheriff Department Housing Navigation Program	Denver Mayor’s Office	Denver, CO	$750,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Denver Sheriff Department Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Expansion Program	Denver Mayor’s Office	Denver, CO	$1,650,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Denver’s Community-Based Violence Intervention Program	Denver Mayor’s Office	Denver, CO	$799,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Dr. Felix Gilbert King’s Crossing Affordable Housing	Restoration Christian Ministries	Aurora, CO	$3,000,000	Bennet
Eagle County Government Eagle Valley Trail	Eagle County Government	Wolcott, CO	$2,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, Neguse
Economic Development for Black Communities	Black Business Initiative	Denver, CO	$800,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
El Paso County LED Retrofit Energy Efficiency Project	El Paso County	Colorado Springs, CO	$445,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Faro 3D crime and accident scene scanner	City of Thornton	Thornton, CO	$102,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Haxtun Health Main Street Clinic	Haxtun Hospital District	Haxtun, CO	$2,000,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
I-70 Remnant Parcels for Community Restoration	Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Inc	Denver, CO	$1,550,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper
Increased Access to Dental, Mammography/Radiology Services	Denver Health and Hospital Authority	Denver, CO	$2,200,000	Bennet, Hickenlooper, DeGette