Today, the Senate passed the $407.3 billion Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Bill by a vote of 89 to 10. The bill now goes to a House-Senate conference committee which is responsible for working out the details between the House and Senate versions of the bill. While there is currently no funding provided for specific projects, the conference committee will be responsible for designating funds for various Iowa projects.
Following is a comment from Sen. Grassley about the bill:
"With the passage of this bill, there is potential for funding many crucial programs that would benefit Iowa. For example, UNI's program of integrating immigrants and refugees into the workforce, and centers for technology, science and math at Iowa State are just some of the many Iowa programs that could benefit from this legislation. I'm urging members of the conference committee to include in their final report funding for the National Mass Fatalities Institute at Kirkwood Community College. In the face of continued terrorist threats, funding for NMFI is urgently needed in order to better train professionals in responding to these types of incidents."