Federal Legislative Agenda

Early Childhood

• Encourage all actions to increase public investment in childcare and early childhood education.

公共教育/ k - 12

• Support efforts to strengthen the teacher pipeline, including incentives toward entering the teaching profession, creating a system for transferability of certification between states, and continuing to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
• Support efforts to increase funding of special education to fulfill Congressional intent to cover 40% of cost to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
• In ESSA, amend Title II, Part A of the Higher Education Act to expand Teacher Quality Partnership Program.
• Support efforts to address student food insecurity.
• Increase investments supporting student mental health.

Higher Education

• Supports UT Health San Antonio FY 23 Federal Funding and Policy Priorities.
• Reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) focusing on the following key improvement areas:
  • Student affordability, access, and success;
  • Simplification of the FAFSA;
  • Institutional accountability; and
  • Innovation and compliance.
• Preserve and enhance the Federal Pell Grant Program by:
  • Extend eligibility to short-term training programs;
  • Increase the annual maximum amount;
  • Permanently expand eligibility to DACA students; and
  • Increase lifetime eligibility to 14 semesters.
• Support & strengthen under-resourced institutions & student support programs by investing in:
  • Strengthening Institutions (Title III-A of the HEA);
  • Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions;
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities;
  • TRIO; and
  • GEAR UP.

Workforce Development

• Supports implementing policies, rules, and regulations that allow for the investment in successful and employer led workforce development programs such as:
  • Federal incentives in businesses that offer internships, apprenticeships, and OJT opportunities; 
  • Perkins Career & Technical Education;
  • Dual credit;
  • Adult education and training including GED/HSE programs;
  • Veterans training; and
  • Educator development and training.
• Continue to invest in workforce and training programs such as the Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCCTG) and rebooting the successful Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCT) grant program.
• Enact legislation creating a permanent solution allowing DACA participants to receive lawful, permanent status and continue their contributions to the United States. 

Academic Health Centers

• Support enhanced FY24 funding for academic health centers through a full appropriations package to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Federal funding opportunities for academic medicine research and development, workforce development, and direct services through related federal agencies, along with potential funding opportunities through Congressionally Directed Spending/Community Project Funding, will continue to provide vital resources for our communities throughout San Antonio and the South Texas border region.

Infrastructure

• Continued Investment in programs that mutually benefit communities and military missions such as Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) Military Installation Resilience Review (MIRR) grant, Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP), and Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP).
  • Embracing programs, including DCIP, which support joint installation-community climate resilience planning and infrastructure projects.
  • Increased appropriations for OLDCC Installation Resilience Grants to prepare for shovel-ready projects to compete for DCIP and DMCSP.
• Quick passage of all FY23 appropriations bills supporting uniformed services, including the Defense Appropriations and Military Construction, VA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Invest in Infrastructure that supports missions and families:
  • Promoting sustained investment in our installations through a stable, robust military construction program that replenishes any redirected funds          
  • Continued tracking status of deferred and new MILCON projects prioritized by JBSA.

Military Medicine and Benefits

• Continued awareness of the benefit of the Army’s Secretarial Designee Program: The SECDES program gives BAMC the ability to treat critically injured patients who would not otherwise be eligible to receive care at a military treatment facility.
• Support legislative language that reduces the financial burden of civilians served at military Medical Treatment Facilities.
• Support Defense Health Agency (DHA) initiatives to grow/expand in Joint Base San Antonio.
• Support DOD Focus on Funded Medical Research (UTHSCSA)
  • Focus areas for research
  • Trauma
  • Human Performance
  • Cancer
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • PTSD/TBI
• Establishment of Trauma and Combat Casualty Care Research Center (TRC4) and support for Human Performance Optimization Center.
• Protect Military health care benefits and address barriers to accessing care within the Military Health System, including TriCare – especially regarding Pharmacy.
• Achieve equity of benefits, protections, and administrative support for Guard/Reserve members consistent with their active-duty counterparts.

Military Spouses and Families

• Increased advocacy for community-led initiatives that enhance military spouse employment and promote military-community efforts to ensure military families have access to high quality schools, childcare, spousal employment, and special needs programs.
  • HR 6347 – Military Souse Entrepreneurs Act - create a pilot procurement program to recognize military spouse owned businesses with advantage in federal government contracting.
  • NDAA Inclusion of: Military Spouse Entrepreneur Reimbursement Act - provide reimbursements for qualified costs directly related to PCS orders including business licenses or permits, moving services for equipment, equipment removal, new equipment purchases, information technology expenses, and inspection fees.
  • Support expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program to make military spouses an eligible target group.
  • Uniformed Serviced Members Absentee Ballot Act - aims to ease the voting process for military service members by way of submitting absentee ballots electronically. However, this bill is not inclusive of military family members – advocate for adding military family members.
  • Military Spouse Co-Working space - working on an initiative with the Army’s Soldier for Life program to establish co-working spaces on Army installations across the nation, Navy on horizon.
  • Protect family support programs, and ensure military-provided services (houses, PCS, child care, youth programs, financial counseling) are readily available and meet standards for quality and costs.
  • The COMFORT Act would allow MFLC counselors with an active state license to provide counseling services to servicemembers and their families anywhere in the nation. This authority would help ease the recruitment challenge for MFLC counselors, provide flexibility for military bases near state borders, and increase the availability of virtual counseling services.

 Other

• Support Recapitalization of F-16 fleet and F-35 initiative in support of Texas Air National Guard mission in San Antonio
  • Postured to assume additional F-16 pilot training production
  • Future transition to post-block F-16 (Block 40/50)
• Fully fund Impact Aid and urge congress to fully fund Impact Aid to offset the costs incurred by districts educating large numbers of military children.
• Hold future Department of Defense Warrior Games in the City of San Antonio and work with Army Leadership to ensure support and collaboration of public and private business support.