U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) recently applauded the passage of an appropriations bill with funding for space exploration, vaccine awareness, housing affordability and gun violence research and prevention.

“The homelessness crisis is affecting cities across the nation, and I am very pleased that the funding bill includes an additional $2 billion dollars for rental assistance programs,” Schiff said. “The administration’s proposed cuts to programs meant to help the homeless would have further exacerbated the problem and we not only resisted such punitive cuts, but augmented our efforts to provide affordable housing.”

Schiff also praised the approval of funding for health care and scientific programs.

“The budget bills also advance scientific research and expand opportunities to gain a better understanding of our planet and the universe beyond it, and to make life better and safer for all who inhabit it,” Schiff said.

Highlights of the appropriations bill include funding for other Schiff priorities. They include increasing funding for rental assistance programs that expand access to affordable housing by more than $2 billion, including funding to increase affordable housing for homeless veterans and people with AIDS. The funds will also provide resources for the Europa Clipper Mission, which will launch a spacecraft into the orbit of Jupiter’s moon Europa, plus $38 million for “Icy Satellites Surface Technology” to study landing on the surface of an icy planet.

The bill also included funds for the Centers for Disease Control to continue increasing awareness and knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

For information, visit schiff.house.gov.