Van Orden Secures Over $26 Million for the Third District in First FY24 Appropriations Package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) applauded the House passage of the first Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) consolidated appropriations package. This package includes over $26 million in funding for Wisconsin’s Third District that Congressman Van Orden specifically advocated for.

Of the six appropriations bills passed today, Congressman Van Orden secured funding in four: Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration; Commerce, Justice, and Science; Interior and Environment; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. Following its passage, Congressman Van Orden stated:

“I came to Washington, D.C. to represent the Third Congressional District, not Washington D.C. Our communities in Southwestern and Central Wisconsin get forgotten by the elites because we are just flyover country to them, but this is our home. The communities in the Third District know what we need here better than anyone, which is why I went directly to the people to ask how we can make life a little better for them. I am proud to have this important funding I advocated for included in today’s appropriations package, and I am especially thankful for the great participation by everyone in the district that helped get the resources we need for these vital projects.

“Despite these great wins for the Third District, I am deeply frustrated with the cuts to the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) initiatives. We must ensure that Wisconsin dairy farmers can continue to feed the world. That is why I introduced the Dairy Business Innovation Act to allocate an additional $16 million per year to the U.S. Department of Agriculture DBI initiatives. I will always stand up for our farmers and will continue to fight for increased DBI initiative funding in the 2024 Farm Bill and FY25 appropriations.”

The FY24 Appropriations package includes funding for many of Congressman Van Orden’s priorities including:

• The Commodity Supplemental Food Program to provide food to low-income seniors
• The National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast program, and Summer Food Programs.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
• The FSA Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund (ACIF) 
• Broadband connectivity
• The Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
• Conservation initiatives

The $26,932,361 in funding secured for the Third District by Congressman Van Orden includes:

• $10,000,000 for Eau Claire County to reconstruct County Road T in the Chippewa Valley Corridor
• $3,699,400 for Portage County Solid Waste to purchase and install sorting equipment for Portage County’s Material Recovery Facility
• $2,500,000 for the City of Richland Center to extend infrastructure to serve the site of a new hospital including water and sewer infrastructure
• $2,000,000 for Eau Claire to filter PFAS from drinking water
• $2,000,000 for the Town of Campbell to establish a new municipal water system
• $1,401,000 for City of River Falls to renovate the River Falls Fire Department
• $1,125,000 for the City of Lancaster to renovate the Lancaster Fire Station
• $1,000,000 for the Village of La Farge to relocate an electrical substation and infrastructure to higher ground
• $951,961 for Monroe County to extend infrastructure for the next full cell construction at the Monroe County Landfill
• $800,000 for the Lake Altoona Rehabilitation and Protection District to refurbish and install a bedload sediment collector system into the Eau Claire River
• $600,000 for the Gundersen Health System to purchase ambulances and other emergency equipment
• $505,000 for Portage County to replace analog and security cameras and storage for Portage County Buildings
• $250,000 for the Agricultural Research Service to conduct cranberry research
• $100,000 for the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office to improve emergency communications