Warner Highlights Funding Losses in Call for Omnibus Spending Bill Passage

By “Dacy, Laura (Warner)” 

~ Letter comes as the February 18th deadline to fund the government approaches ~

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is calling on Congress to pass an omnibus spending bill for FY 2022 ahead of February 18, when existing funding is scheduled to expire. This comes as Congress weighs yet another stopgap bill to temporarily fund the government until March 11th – a move that would avert a government shutdown but prevent Virginia and states across the country from accessing hundreds of millions of dollars in crucial funding available under the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress in November.

In a letter to the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Sen. Warner highlighted that many programs authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act thathe helped to negotiate will not be fully funded until Congress approves a new spending package for 2022. The federal government is currently operating under a continuing resolution which simply funds existing programs at the same levels as last year without adjusting or authorizing new spending – a kick-the-can-down-the-road maneuver that disproportionately hurts states like Virginia, which has a significant federal footprint.

“If Congress is unable to come to an agreement on full-year appropriations for Fiscal Year 2022, Virginia alone could lose approximately $364 million in roads and bridges funding and $53 million in transit funding. This is unacceptable, and I have repeatedly urged my colleagues to come together and pass an omnibus FY 2022 appropriations bill rather than squander these funding opportunities with another CR,” Sen. Warner wrote.

 

Additionally, without a new congressional spending deal, there is no funding to stand up new transportation grant programs approved by Congress as part of the infrastructure law.

 

“To better understand the full impact of another CR on these critical projects, I respectfully request that the Office of Management and Budget outline in detail, by Monday, February 14, all IIJA programs that are at risk of losing funding relative to funding levels authorized in IIJA, or having funding delayed under the CR framework,” he continued.

 

Sen. Warner has previously spoken out about the importance of avoiding painful government shutdowns and spending lapses. He introduced the Stop STUPIDITY (Shutdowns Transferring Unnecessary Pain and Inflicting Damage In The Coming Years) Actwhich would end the threat of future government shutdowns by keeping the government running in the case of a lapse in funding.