WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill passed by the House Appropriations Committeesecures funding for programs important to New Jersey organizations and communities.  The bill provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other related agencies.

Small Business Administration Small Business Administration (SBA) – The bill contains $737 million for the SBA to help promote opportunities for small businesses to begin, grow, and prosper. This includes full funding to support $30 billion in 7(a) and $7.5 billion in 504 small business loans. Also included is:

$18 million for Women’s Business Centers, to support organizations like the Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship [WCEC] in Chatham, Morris County to help elevate women to business success through education, counseling, mentoring and entrepreneurial training. 

$130 million for Small Business Development Centers which will support The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) network which is committed to guiding established small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to create and expand their business enterprises which will, in turn, result in sustainable growth, job creation and economic development across our state.  The NJSBDC network includes 12 centers across New Jersey, including: NJSBDC at William Paterson University (Passaic County), NJSBDC at Rutgers Newark (Essex County) and NJSBDC of Northwest Jersey (Morris and Sussex County).

$12.3 million for veterans programs to maximize small business opportunities for veterans, service-disabled veterans, and their dependents or survivors.

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) – receives $191 million, the President’s FY 2019 budget request had eliminated the program. This funding will continue to support organizations that make credit, capital, and other critical financial services available to disadvantaged businesses and low-income communities throughout NJ. Since 1996, over 3,000 CDFI loans have been made in NJ totaling $388 million.

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas(HIDTA) – The bill provides level funding of $280 million for HIDTA, which provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the U.S. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). There are currently 28 HIDTAs, which include approximately 18 percent of all counties in the United States and 66 percent of the U.S. population. The following New Jersey counties are in the HIDTA NY/NJ region: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, and Union.

In addition to these funds, the bill provides an extra $15.4 million over the budget request to the US Postal Service Office of Inspector General to continue drug interdiction efforts and investigations.

Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Department of Treasury - receives $161 million, an increase of $20 million from FY 2018, to protect the financial system from being polluted with criminal and illicit activities and counteract national security threats from drug lords, terrorists, WMD proliferators and rogue nations.

U.S. Potal Service Six Day Delivery –The bill includes language that would mandate six-day delivery by the U.S. Post Office. For many New Jersey families, Saturday is often the one day when most people are home to accept their mail. These mail customers rely on six-day delivery to receive vital mail or packages, like baby formula, prescription drugs, or social security checks.

Internal Revenue Service - The legislation provides $11.6 billion in funding for the IRS, an increase of $186 million from FY 2018 enacted level. Included in this funding is $2.5 billion for Taxpayer Services, an increase of $250 million from the President’s budget request, to improve taxpayer services such as phone call and correspondence response times – and funding for fraud prevention, and cybersecurity. The bill also includes numerous provisions that seek to streamline and modernize the IRS to better assist and protect New Jersey taxpayers.

In addition to funding of interest to New Jersey, the legislation maintains $45 million in funding for the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act, including $15 million for Opportunity Scholarships. These funds provide a “lifeline” for low-income families in Washington, D.C. who wish to send their children to a private or parochial school. 

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The bill totals $23.4 billion, which is equal to the fiscal year 2018 enacted level. The legislation funds programs and activities at U.S. financial agencies that will help boost the economy, ensure a level playing field for U.S. businesses and industries, and prevent financial crime.

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