Diaz-Balart Secures Additional Funding for School Safety in Appropriations Committee

WASHINGTON ­­– Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after the Committee approved the fiscal year 2019 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. The legislation included an increase in funding for the STOP School Violence Act, which Diaz-Balart worked with Chairman Frelinghuysen and Subcommittee Chairman Culberson to secure.

“I am proud to have secured increased funding for school hardening measures through the STOP School Violence Act. The bill, which initially passed in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus, provides our schools with additional resources to strengthen their safety protocols. We must give school personnel and law enforcement the ability to make our classrooms safer through upgraded technology and the appropriate training. We cannot let another tragedy like Parkland happen again, and I am grateful to be in a position to be able to fight for this critical funding. I am especially appreciative of Congressman Ted Deutch and his willingness to work with me to attain these federal dollars in a bipartisan manner.

 “I look forward to working with Chairman Frelinghuysen and Subcommittee Chairman Culberson to seeing this important bill through House passage.”

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Diaz-Balart worked with his colleagues to secure the following funding in the fiscal year 2019 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill:  

• $100 million for school hardening measures through the STOP School Violence Act
• $441.5 million to provide states, localities, and tribes with funding to support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention, corrections, drug treatment, and other important initiatives through the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants
• $410 million for Legal Services Partnership, providing access to legal aid to individuals who might not be able to afford it otherwise
• $10 million to begin addressing aging Fishery Science Centers, including NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami
• $22.5 million to continue a Body Worn Camera Partnership with states and localities who purchase the technology for their departments
• $4.79 billion to assist states and localities with the 2020 Census