Rep. Chu Votes Yes on Spending Package that Delivers Over $7 Million to CA-28 for Fire Recovery, Infrastructure Improvements

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 341-88 to pass H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. This minibus provides full Fiscal Year 2026 funding for three appropriations bills: Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Defense; and Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. Rep. Chu (CA-28) released the following statement:

"Today's bill makes important progress toward protecting the programs our communities rely on and rejecting the Trump administration's plan to cut funding for public services by tens of billions of dollars. While I would have liked to see even stronger investments, I am pleased that this bill makes progress in relieving cost-of-living pressures for American families by mandating robust funding for affordable child care and housing, public health, transportation infrastructure, and more. Democrats also successfully eliminated dozens of extreme Republican policy riders that would have limited access to reproductive health care, removed worker protections, cut infrastructure projects in blue states, and more," said Rep. Chu. "However, I am disappointed that this bill would increase funding to a Department of Defense budget that is already bloated, while also putting no meaningful guardrails on the Trump administration's reckless actions in Venezuela or their threats of use of force against places like Iran and Greenland. Despite my disappointment, this legislation helps restore Congress's role in deciding how taxpayer dollars get spent and makes meaningful progress in preserving some of our federal government's most important functions."

Rep. Chu secured more than $7 million in funding for nine projects that will directly benefit residents of California's 28th District.

• $2 million for the Arcadia and U.S. Forest Service Joint Fire Training Center
  • This funding will support a joint fire training center between the City of Arcadia and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to facilitate Class-A live fire training including structural firefighting, wildland urban interface firefighting, Urban Search & Rescue, and more. This will contribute to faster and more effective response times for real incidents.
• $500,000 for the Altadena Community Center Facility Improvements and ADA Upgrades
  • The funding will help install updated fixtures, lighting, HVAC, and ADA accessibility upgrades in the Altadena Community Center, the sole remaining community center in the area following the Eaton Fire.
• $1 million for the Pasadena Jackie Robinson Community Center - Facility Improvements and ADA Upgrades
  • This funding will help make facility-wide ADA accessibility upgrades, energy-efficient lighting upgrades, HVAC maintenance, remodeling of community service staff areas, and more to revitalize the Jackie Robinson Community Center of Northwest Pasadena.
• $850,000 for the Temple City Lower Azusa Road Resurfacing and ADA Improvements
  • This funding will institute street resurfacing, sidewalk construction, and ADA improvements for Lower Azusa Road, a major east-west corridor that runs through the City of Temple City, to bolster pedestrian mobility and accessibility and improve the flow of traffic.
• $850,000 for the Foothill Transit Zero-Emissions Bus Program
  • This funding will replace 6 retirement-eligible compressed natural gas buses with zero-emissions buses and will help construct fueling stations throughout the service area, to deliver cleaner, smarter transit service.
• $850,000 for the Claremont South Village Public Infrastructure Improvements
  • This funding will make public improvements, including streets, medians, traffic signals, sewers, storm drains, utilities, and public open spaces to support the development of the South Village and stimulate more housing production, public transit ridership, and economic activity in the region.
• $500,000 for the Rosemead Garvey Avenue Community Center Renovation Project
  • This funding will help renovate the Garvey Avenue Community Center, including the repainting of the entire facility, replacement of flooring, renovation of the existing six restrooms, replacement of the exterior lighting fixtures with brighter and energy-efficient fixtures, and renovation of the kitchen.
• $250,000 for the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust Project Pipeline
  • This funding will support site acquisition, construction, and capital improvements of affordable housing developments as prioritized by the San Gabriel Valley Project Pipeline, a list of affordable and homeless housing projects in need of gap financing.
• $250,000 for the Monterey Park Fire Station 63 Reconstruction Project
  • This funding will support the demolition and reconstruction of Fire Station 63 and the attached training tower that were previously damaged and made unsafe by an earthquake. The reconstructed station will improve public safety and will be better sized and equipped to handle increased demand for fire and emergency services.

"I am proud to have secured $7,050,000 in Community Project Funding in this bill to support projects across my district," Rep. Chu continued. "These investments will advance public safety, modernize infrastructure and community services, and improve transportation throughout our region. This funding will be especially critical as we continue to recover and rebuild from the Eaton Fire, and I'm proud to be bringing these federal dollars directly to our community."

The bill also:

• Reasserts Congress's power of the purse through mandatory staffing thresholds, notification requirements, and funding tables
• Increases funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $400 million, investing in cutting-edge research to develop cures and treatments
• Increases funding for Child Care and Head Start by $170 million, helping provide hard-working families access to early childhood education and child care
• Provides $66.6 billion in funding for rental assistance programs, rejecting President Trump's efforts to cut funding for these programs in half
• Provides an increase of $1.6 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including funding to expand the air traffic controller workforce by 2,500 personnel, improve facilities and equipment, and modernize the nation's air traffic control towers
• Fully funds the 3.8 percent pay raise for military personnel

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