Railroad crossing grant, diagnostic tests, Juneteenth, caregivers for vets

Indiana will receive $21 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program to reduce train-vehicle collisions and blocked crossings. The Biden-Harris administration announced funding for 63 projects in 32 states totaling $570 million nationally, including in Hammond.

State Rep. Carolyn B. Jackson, D-Hammond.

Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond: "Rail is a critical part of America's transportation infrastructure and supply chain system. Residents of Hammond for too long have suffered the consequences of dangerous and disruptive blockages, which are often preventable. Shocking stories detail kids forced to crawl under trains to get to schools and emergency services jammed up at railways. Indiana's commuters, residents and first-responders not only lose valuable time, but often find themselves in dangerous positions at the site of these preventable transportation incidents.

"Today represents a meaningful first step in addressing concerns at railways across America. I look forward to seeing how the $21 million dollars will make it easier and safer to get around with the addition of grade separations, closing at-grade crossings and improving existing at-grade crossings where trains tracks and railroads intersect."

On Monday, U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indiana, Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, Rep. Larry Buschon, R-Indiana, and Rep. Kim Shrier, D-Washington, introduced the Bipartisan Diagnostics Testing Preparedness Plan Act. This bill will require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a diagnostics plan to be used during public health emergencies. Diagnostics were crucial to the COVID-19 response, but the pandemic revealed gaps in diagnostic tests available in the United States, including supply chain issues and reliance on foreign countries for materials.

U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indiana in a file photo from 2020.

Carson: "COVID-19 emphasized the need to improve and invest in our diagnostic response nationwide, but diagnostics play a role in every aspect of public health. Whether it's a bad flu season or the outbreak of new infectious disease, my bill will ensure my district and cities across the country are better coordinated and better prepared than ever to tackle the world's most serious health problems. I’m honored to work with Roche Diagnostics in my home district and with my Hoosier colleagues across the aisle on this important bill."

Pence: "Diagnostics are essential for successful disease outbreak containment and response. It is important the HHS have a blueprint for communicating and collaborating with the private and public sectors to ensure diagnostics are readily available. In order to avoid issues during future Public Health Emergencies, the HHS needs to be prepared with a plan for diagnostic testing in advance."

Bucshon: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the critical role that diagnostic tests played in the public health response. However, one of the lessons learned from the pandemic is that we need to have a comprehensive plan in place that allows private sector innovators and the federal government to work together so that we can rapidly develop and distribute the diagnostic tools needed. Today, I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation that will ensure that the United States puts in place such a plan, ensuring that our nation is better prepared to quickly and effectively respond in a future public health emergency—which ultimately will save lives."

The Eiteljorg Museum's annual Juneteenth and Jazz Community Celebration returns June 17. Admission is free that day, and events include jazz performances by Greg Sansing and the Jazzsetters and the Rob Dixon Quartet, as well as poetry readings, storytelling, art-making activities and more. For info, go to Eiteljorg.org/Juneteenth.

Alisa Nordholt-Dean, Eiteljorg vice president for public programs and Beeler family director of education: "With the help of numerous community partners, the Eiteljorg Museum hosted its first Juneteenth Community Celebration in 2015 on the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth. Our event became so popular that it has become an annual tradition. The museum's free celebration has developed over the years to include a focus on cultural and musical performances. Back in 2015, we were one of a few local Juneteenth events, and now we are part of what has become a city-wide celebration."

Last week, U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Montana, and Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, this week introduced their bipartisan Veterans Caregiver Application and Appeals Reform Act of 2023 (CARE Act of 2023) to improve operation and oversight of the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, also known as the Caregivers Program. The program offers comprehensive support to caregivers of veterans who were injured in the line of duty.

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana.

Braun: "Congress created the caregiver program to provide critical assistance to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country. The CARE Act makes improvements to the program to ensure that veterans have access to the best care possible."

Mayor Joe Hogsett, IndyGo and Growing Places Indy recently launched the sixth year of Food in Transit at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center.

From the press release: "Food in Transit expands food access to IndyGo ridership by offering fresh, locally-grown produce at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center each Friday from June to September for free. New this year, the program will include recipes, cooking demonstrations, and free food bags with ingredients for a nutritious meal."

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, recently joined 46 of his colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm, raising their concern about a proposed rule by the DOE that increases efficiency standards on distribution transformers—critical grid products—at a time when the availability of essential grid components remains a significant challenge for the electric power industry, and while the industry is struggling due to a substantial increase in demand, supply chain issues, and skilled workforce shortage.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young.

From the letter: "Currently, the United States only has one domestic producer of amorphous steel. Moving to amorphous steel cores, as proposed by DOE, would require this sole domestic supplier to rapidly scale operations from its current market share of less than five percent to accommodate the entire distribution transformer market. Such a recalibration of the supply chain will further delay manufacturing production timelines—currently estimated to be a minimum of 18 months to two years.

"By phasing out the primary market for U.S.-produced GOES, the Proposed Rule could jeopardize this progress, putting everyday American families at risk. Further, we are concerned that requiring the use of amorphous steel for new distribution transformers could put the administration's electrification goals at risk by exacerbating an existing grid vulnerability. At the same time, we recognize the numerous and often underappreciated benefits of energy efficiency and support the overall goal of reducing wasteful electrical losses in our distribution grid. We believe the most prudent course of action is to let both GOES and amorphous steel cores coexist in the market, as they do today without government mandates, for new installations as we ramp up domestic production and reorient supply chains."

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