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| Wilson Announces NM Health & Education Projects |
June 13, 2006 |
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Wilson Requests for New Mexico Included in House Appropriations Bill
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today announced that six important health and education projects for New Mexico are slated to receive funding, at her request, under a major appropriations bill proceeding in the U.S. House of Representatives.
At Wilson’s request, earmarks for New Mexico include $700,000 for South Valley Community Dental facilities and equipment, $400,000 for Jewish Family Service for a retirement project, $300,000 for a UNM Indian education project, and $200,000 for TVI Community College’s realtime writer’s program.
“These healthcare efforts, particularly Community Dental’s facility, meet important needs for some of those who depend on these services the most,” Wilson said.
The bill includes a joint request from Reps. Wilson, Tom Udall and Steve Pearce of $250,000 for the New Mexico Public Education Department for summer math and reading teacher institutes.
“We need to continue our focus on teacher training for math, science and reading,” Wilson said. “When we teach our children to read well, we give them a lifelong gift.”
Another joint request by Reps. Wilson and Udall is included for $250,000 for Sandoval County for medical supplies and equipment.
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007 is slated for consideration by the House Appropriations Committee.
Wilson requests:
$700,000 for Community Dental, Albuquerque, for construction and equipment. Community Dental to continue serves 10,000 people yearly, but their facilities are inadequate and in disrepair. Community Dental provides services to Medicaid recipients and others who may have nowhere else to go. Low income Americans are unlikely to have sufficient dental care, according to studies.
$400,000 for Jewish Family Service, Albuquerque, for a retirement community. This program, in its final year, serves as a means to secure services, quality of life, and independence of the growing senior population living in the community and in need of targeted supportive services.
$300,000 for the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, for Indian education. This project will provide Native American teachers with training in implementing federal mandates for school improvement and meeting requirements for highly qualified teachers; teacher internships to help tribes build internal cadres of Native language teachers; and assistance in education policy development to tribes and promote parental and tribal participation in educational decision-making.
$200,000 for Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute to train realtime writers and captioners. With this funding, TVI will work to curb the shortage and ensure that the skilled workforce necessary to meet the mandates of the Telecommunications Act will be available. This supports development of resources, training materials, educators, and captioning curriculum, to train “airtime ready” captioners and realtime writers in 24-36 months of coursework.
Joint Udall, Wilson, Pearce Request:
$250,000 for the New Mexico Public Education Department to fund summer reading and math teacher institutes throughout the state. These institutes will help provide teachers with the knowledge they need to close the achievement gap and bring students to proficiency. Summer institutes will target teachers from underperforming schools and provide professional development on the interpretation and use of achievement data to inform and improve instruction, best instructional practices, and cultural competency.
Joint Wilson, Udall Request:
$250,000 for Sandoval County, Bernalillo, for medical facilities and equipment. This project is a mobile telehealth vehicle. This funding would provide for equipment, training, and staffing for a vehicle that uses Broadband technology to connect to hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices allowing real-time diagnosis and treatment of patients.
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