The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has moved to provide $2.5 million for the Holocaust Survivors Assistance Program.

The funding was included in the fiscal 2017 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill, which the committee advanced Thursday in a 29-1 vote. Sens. Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin, both on the committee, voted for the bill.

The Holocaust Survivors Assistance Program is one of the Jewish Federation’s top domestic policy priorities. It helps to ensure that Holocaust survivors in the Chicago community and around the country receive the type of trauma-informed care and services they need and deserve.

Of the more than 6,000 Holocaust survivors in Chicago, about one third live at or just above the poverty line and many more are in poor health. Chicago’s CJE SeniorLife, which obtained a grant through this program, continues to see growing demand for these services, making its funding all the more crucial.

The Jewish Federation will continue to advocate for maximum funding to ensure that there are sufficient resources to improve and expand services to survivors.

Given the shortened legislative calendar due to the fall elections, it is not clear whether lawmakers will consider this bill in the full Senate before the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. The bill would therefore likely become part of an “omnibus” spending package later this year.