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Press Releases
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For Immediate Release
December 19, 2007
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CONGRESS SALVAGES DOMESTIC PRIORITIES FROM BUSH BUDGET CUTS
Funding Included for the Triangle and North Carolina Projects |
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Washington, D.C. - Congress today gave final approval to a bill funding the majority of the federal government in fiscal year 2008. A combination of 11 separate appropriations bills, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764) includes everything from health and education programs to homeland security and transportation. U.S. Rep. David Price (D-NC) announced today that he was able to secure funding in the bill for some initiatives in the Triangle and North Carolina (see highlights below).
Congressional Democrats had hoped to increase funding for key domestic priorities that have been squeezed under 12 years of Republican rule, but the President vetoed the Labor, Health & Education bill and threatened to veto any subsequent bills that exceeded his total budget request or that put conditions on funding for the Iraq War.
“While the President has insisted upon an additional $200 billion to continue the war in Iraq, he has summarily rejected a modest 2% increase over his budget for domestic priorities,” Price said. “The result is a bill that does not adequately invest in the priorities of the country. In light of the President’s insistence on his arbitrary budget number, we have reallocated priorities within that number, avoiding the significant cuts he recommended for health research, college financial aid, veterans’ health care, and law enforcement support, among others.”
Price, as Chairman of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, helped author the homeland security portion of the bill. “We rejected the President’s cuts to critical state and local grant programs, instead providing our first responders the support they need to protect our communities,” Price said. “We have also provided long overdue investments in the security of our ports and in rail and transit facilities.”
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Price was also able to secure funding for projects in the Fourth Congressional District and for the State of North Carolina in the bill. Below is a list of highlights:
- Roads & Transit – A combined $3.675 million for road and highway projects in the Triangle, including funding for the southwestern portion of I-540, separations of grade crossings at Walker Street in Cary and Hobson Road in Durham, and statewide upgrades in bus service.
- Disaster Mitigation – A combined $5 million to support the State of North Carolina’s efforts to mitigate against the effects of natural and other disasters, including improving evacuation plans; identifying and protecting critical infrastructure; better identifying areas at risk of flooding; and enhancing communications tools among federal, state and local emergency managers.
- Wake County Mental Health - $287,000 to add new beds for inpatient, acute mental health care at Holly Hill Hospital. This facility provides care to the indigent and uninsured, and additional capacity is needed to compensate for the beds that will be lost when Dorothea Dix Hospital closes in 2008.
- Law Enforcement – A combined $2.3 million for law enforcement agencies in Wake, Durham and Orange Counties to obtain interoperable communications equipment, expand forensic investigative capabilities, and improve emergency response capabilities using satellite technology. An additional $329,000 is provided to the North Carolina Highway Patrol to replace outdated regional communications equipment.
- Innovative Cancer Research – $984,000 for the Collaborative Initiative in Biomedical Imaging, a joint effort among UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, and UNC-Charlotte to apply state-of-the-art medical imaging technologies to understand how complex diseases such as cancer and diabetes relate to each individual’s genetic map.
- Water Infrastructure – A combined $984,000 for Durham to upgrade its aging water and wastewater infrastructure, and for Cary, Apex, Morrisville and Holly Springs to construct a new regional water treatment facility to keep pace with the demand of growing communities.
- Hog Waste Clean-up – A combined $697,000 to help convert hog waste lagoons to more environmentally sustainable waste technologies through research at NC State and technical support for farmers shifting from lagoon systems.
- At-Risk Youth Enrichment – A combined $260,000 for NC Central’s Saturday Academy for academic support and social enrichment for K-10 students in Durham, and for the expansion of the gymnasium at the John Avery Boys and Girls Club in Durham.
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