Resident commissioner taking priority program funding recommendations for FY 2023
By John McPhaul
jpmcphaul@gmail.com
In anticipation of the beginning of the federal government’s budget process for fiscal year 2023, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced Tuesday that her office is receiving recommendations from municipalities, non-profit organizations and other entities on priority federal programs for Puerto Rico.
“As part of the process of preparing the budget for the federal government, every year the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives asks us congressmen to submit a list of priority federal programs for our states and territories. That is why I ask the municipalities and organizations, among others, to submit their recommendations to my office for fiscal year 2023,” the resident commissioner said in a written statement. “Beyond detailing their priority projects and costs, they need to identify the source of federal funding. That is, under what federal agency and federal program does that project receive or could receive funds?”
For example, if a municipality receives or has received funds under the Head Start program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the resident commissioner can advocate before the Appropriations Committee to maintain or increase the level of financing of the program at the federal level.
Once Congress approves the budget and allocates the funds to the federal agencies, the resident commissioner is fully available to advocate, follow up and submit letters of support for proposals submitted to the agencies, she said.
So far, only language and programmatic applications are being accepted.
Programmatic requests are those related to requests for funding levels for the various programs of departments and agencies at the federal level; they can also be used to reduce or eliminate funding for specific programs.
The language inclusion request may be included in the committee report that accompanies each appropriations bill. Through the inclusion of language, applicants can support program funding or direct federal agencies to report to Congress on public policy issues. Although most federal agencies normally follow these requests, it should be noted that they do not carry the full force of the law.
The form for submitting priority program recommendations, as well as additional details and sample language and program requests, are available at the following link: https://gonzalez-colon.house.gov/services/appropriations-requests.
González Colón said it is important to note that the form is different from the process for requesting direct congressional funding for local or community projects (Community Project Funding). The resident commissioner’s office will share more details about the process for submitting community project proposals once the Appropriations Committee provides additional information and the corresponding eligibility guidelines for fiscal year 2023.
For questions about the form and the appropriations process in general, go to prapprops@mail.house.gov.