March 22, 2010

As your Congressman, I have the opportunity to address the multitude of needs of the people of the 10th Congressional District through the annual appropriations process.

At the request of the local and regional public agencies or non-profit organizations, I am submitting the following projects to the House Committee on Appropriations for consideration for fiscal year 2011.

Each project is important and we must be aware of the challenging fiscal environment, the desire of President Obama to reduce discretionary spending and the overall need to reduce the budget deficit.

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Project Name: Alameda Creek Watershed Project

• Request Amount: 1337000
• Intended Recipient: Alameda County Resource Conservation District
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 3585 Greenville Road, Suite 2; Livermore, CA  94550
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the funding would be used for the mitigation of negative effects of soil erosion caused by upstream development, local urbanization, and channel instability resulting in a critical impact to endangered wildlife habitats.

Project Name: Antioch After School Library Education Program

• Request Amount: 150000
• Intended Recipient: City of Antioch
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 200 H Street; Antioch, CA  94509
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of tax payer funds because the City of Antioch, in cooperation with the Antioch Unified School District, is working to expand the current after-school library program from one high school into both high schools and four middle schools, which will serve approximately 10,000 Antioch schoolchildren.  As a part of the Library Needs Assessment developed by the City of Antioch, stakeholders and the Contra Costa Library staff, a need for access to technology and educational resources was identified.  The nearest public library branch for most students is over five miles away in a city with very limited public transportation options.  In addition to not being able to access print materials, many of these students are also unable to access the Internet and are also unable to complete assignments using a word-processing program.  Those most affected by the lack of access to technology and resources are students in low income households who are less likely to have a computer available to them at home, the resources to purchase books and/or access to their own transportation.  Computer equipment, resource databases and educational materials will be purchased to enhance these programs.  As a result, up to 12 part-time positions could be created (which would be funded by the library/school district - not from the requested funding).  Currently, the after-school program serves 3,500 students per year, but with the requested funding the program will be expanded to serve over 10,000 students per year. Without the requested funding, the program is in serious jeopardy of being terminated due to lack of funding.  All work will be completed in FY 2011.

Project Name: Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Project

• Request Amount: 16112200
• Intended Recipient: Bay Area Clean Water Agencies
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: PO Box 24055; Oakland, CA  94623
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will construct treatment, pipeline and related conveyance facilities to develop and expand the use of recycled water to augment surface water supplies, helping to preserve overdrawn river and groundwater supplies, protect the environment, and improve the overall security and reliability of the Area's urban water systems.

Project Name: CALFED Study

• Request Amount: 20000000
• Intended Recipient: U.S. Army of Corp Engineers
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1325 J Street; Sacramento, CA  95814
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will conduct a study to evaluate the threat of serious levee failure and its widespread effects. Congress directed the U.S. Army Core of Engineers to deliver a report that identifies and prioritizes potential levee stability projects in the Delta.

Project Name: Central Valley Integrated Flood Management Study

• Request Amount: 1000000
• Intended Recipient: U.S. Army of Corp Engineers
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1325 J Street; Sacramento, CA  95814
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• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will develop a system wide, comprehensive flood management plan for the Central Valley to reduce flood damage and to integrate ecosystem restoration.

Project Name: Contra Costa County Highway 4 Widening

• Request Amount: 40000000
• Intended Recipient: Contra Costa Transportation Authority
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 3478 Buskirk Avenue, Ste. 100; Pleasant Hill, CA  94523
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the State Route 4 East corridor serves as the only major east-west transportation link joining the communities of Antioch, Pittsburg, Oakley and Brentwood with central Contra Costa County and the Bay Area. This corridor provides access to major industrial facilities (including refineries) in both eastern and western contra Costa County. SR4 East is also one of two east-west connections linking the Bay Area and the Central Valley. The project improves safety by reducing congestion and related rear end accidents. This project will reduce traffic congestion in East Contra Costa County, thus encouraging more businesses to locate in the area. Reduced congestion also decreases delivery times, which will decrease the cost to deliver freight, goods and services. These costs are passed on to the consumer and are especially harmful to small businesses. The project will improve mobility by reducing idling and facilitating alternative modes of transportation (carpooling, vanpooling, etc.) in the corridor. SR4 East ranked 4th on Bay Area’s most congested freeways. The Project will construct a wide median for transit on SR4 East. In addition to improving capacity on SR4 East, the project will extend the carpool (HOV) lane on SR4 East between Somersville and Hillcrest interchanges. When completed, a 15-mile continuous carpool lane will connect Central Contra Costa County with East Contra Costa County. The project will improve air quality by 1) reducing idling and both recurrent and non-recurrent congestion on SR4 East, and by 2) encouraging carpooling by extending the HOV lanes from Somersville to Hillcrest interchanges on SR4.

Project Name: Contra Costa County Safe & Bright Futures

• Request Amount: 475000
• Intended Recipient: Contra Costa County
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 651 Pine St., 11th Floor; Martinez, CA 94533
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would implement a federally-funded plan to create a system in Contra Costa County to diminish the damaging effects of domestic violence on children and adolescents and to stop the cycle of intentional injury and abuse.  Under a 3-year federal planning grant, a broad-based collaborative developed the comprehensive plan to create a system responsive to the needs of children exposed to domestic violence through identification, intervention, and treatment; raising awareness; training professionals; utilizing and disseminating data; establishing consultation teams to support providers in intervening and using best practices; and providing targeted services.

Project Name: Dixon Train Station/Parkway Blvd. Overcrossing

• Request Amount: 2000000
• Intended Recipient: Solano Transportation Authority
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: One Harbor Center, Suite 130; Suisun City, CA  94585
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because these improvements are part of the strategy to offer direct rail transportation as an alternative to vehicle traffic on the I-80 corridor for county commuters to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento Region to reduce automobile congestion, improve air quality, and facilitate workforce mobility to attract business and industry to the region.

Project Name: Fairfield Emergency Operations Center

• Request Amount: 300000
• Intended Recipient: City of Fairfield
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1000 Webster St.; Fairfield, CA  94533
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will provide equipment and facility upgrades to the City of Fairfield's Emergency Operations Center.

Project Name: Hope Through Housing Violence Prevention

• Request Amount: 1500000
• Intended Recipient: Hope Through Housing Foundation
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 9065 Haven Avenue, Suite 100;  Rancho Cucamonga, CA  91730
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will allow the Hope Through Housing Foundation (Hope) to provide more than 2,000 at-risk youth living in low income communities, including youth from the South Pace neighborhood of Fairfield, with life skills that reduce juvenile delinquency and gang involvement, and increase rates of high school graduation in disadvantaged communities.

Project Name: I-580 Corridor Improvements

• Request Amount: 10000000
• Intended Recipient: Alameda County Congestion Management Agency
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1333 Broadway; Oakland, CA 94612
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of tax payer funds because the I-580 Corridor Improvements consist of several elements that will collectively reduce the congestion in the corridor. The I-580 Project will improve the safety of the highway by providing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, Express (High Occupancy Toll) lanes, auxiliary lanes, corridor-wide ramp metering and other improvements. FY11 funding would be used specifically for project development and construction. Interstate 580 (I-580) is the main east-west interregional freeway connecting the Bay Area and Interstate 5 in the Central Valley. I-580 also serves as a major transportation corridor serving the commute between the Central Valley and the Bay Area. In addition to being classified as a “Lifeline Route” and providing the main access to the Homeland Security Organization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, I-580 is a major route for the movement of goods and freight into and out of the region, as well as significant recreational travel throughout the year. I-580 is the second most congested corridor in the Bay Area.

Project Name: Livermore Performing Arts Theater

• Request Amount: 175000
• Intended Recipient: City of Livermore
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1052 S. Livermore Ave.; Livermore, CA  94550
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the video equipment will enable the theater to serve as a cultural center and improve access to education through the arts.

Project Name: Livermore Valley Open Campus Computing Center

• Request Amount: 1500000
• Intended Recipient: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 7000 East Avenue; Livermore, CA  94550
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would provide the funding necessary to prepare the site adjacent to the high security areas of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).  The Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC) will become the principal location for technology transfer from the advanced research at LLNL and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) to the American economy. The LVOC will create partnerships between government, industry and academia, with the initial focus on cyber science for national cyber security challenges.

Project Name: LLNL MEGa-ray Test Bed for Nuclear Material Detection and Assay

• Request Amount: 6000000
• Intended Recipient: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 7000 East Avenue; Livermore, CA  94550
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will lead to the development of a new and transformational approach to nuclear material detection by creating a national test-bed for isotope-specific material evaluation using Mono-Energetic Gamma-ray (MEGa-ray) technology at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).  With this LLNL-pioneered technology, it is possible to confidently and rapidly ascertain the presence or absence of any nuclear material contained within a well-shielded container without harm to humans.  As envisioned, this technology provides the breakthrough solution to the homeland security challenge of finding and preventing a nuclear weapon from entering the country via large-scale shipping containers, while at the same time permitting the unimpeded international flow of goods.  The impact on the world's economy of even a modest nuclear release at a port of commerce has been estimated at a trillion dollars. The technology also enables traceable accounting from cradle to grave of nuclear materials used within the broader nuclear enterprise worldwide and as such provides a new route to securing nuclear materials and dealing with larger nuclear materials proliferation issues.

Project Name: Lower Walnut Creek Project

• Request Amount: 600000
• Intended Recipient: U.S. Army of Corp Engineers
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1325 J Street; Sacramento, CA  95814
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it examines the Lower Walnut Creek Project. This reevaluation study of a channel constructed in the 1960s by the U.S. Army Core of Engineers responds to a new endangered species listings and regulatory requirements that restrict traditional channel operation and maintenance.

Project Name: Matt Garcia PAL Center

• Request Amount: 190000
• Intended Recipient: Matt Garcia Police Athletic League Center
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1000 Webster St.; Fairfield, CA  94533
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would allow the Matt Garcia PAL Youth Center to expand academic and job skill programming, provide members with basic participation needs and increase staff support to serve over 500 at-risk youth in Fairfield, California.

Project Name: Pinole Shoal Management Study

• Request Amount: 2500000
• Intended Recipient: U.S. Army of Corp Engineers
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1325 J Street; Sacramento, CA  95814
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will establish a federal-state sediment management permitting office, initiate studies (sediment and water quality work, testing protocol, etc.) in order to accelerate large-scale levee reconstruction and upgrading of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levees.

Project Name: Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, Delta Islands Study

• Request Amount: 2468000
• Intended Recipient: U.S. Army of Corp Engineers
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 1325 J Street; Sacramento, CA  95814
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will develop the long-term strategy for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in the Delta region.

Project Name: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Counties, California, Bay-Delta Area Studies, Surveys and Technical Analysis

• Request Amount: 2500000
• Intended Recipient: California Delta Counties of Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Yolo, Solano and Sacramento
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 651 Pine Street; Martinez, CA, 94553
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will enable the five California Delta Counties of Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Yolo, Solano and Sacramento to conduct technical analysis and planning associated with the following priority activities: protecting surface and ground water resources; protecting and improving water quality; habitat protection and ecosystem restoration initiatives, including habitat restoration on agricultural lands.

Project Name: San Ramon Valley Water Recycling

• Request Amount: 458000
• Intended Recipient: East Bay Municipal Utility District
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 375 11th Street; Oakland, CA   94607
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will expand delivery of recycled water in the area will create jobs and aid efforts to use water in a sustainable manner.

Project Name: Travis Air Force Base Civil Engineering Complex

• Request Amount: 12900000
• Intended Recipient: Travis Air Force Base
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: Travis Air Force Base; Fairfield, CA  94535
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would allow for the construction of new Base Civil Engineer (BCE) maintenance and supply facilities to allow 270 Travis Air Force Base personnel to accomplish their work in a more secure and efficient manner. Currently there are 26 facilities in the current BCE complex, and the average age of the facilities is 45 years. The majority of the buildings have leaky roofs, cracked foundations and degraded exteriors and parking surfaces. The current facilities are not energy efficient and do not meet modern facility or seismic codes, a major consideration in northern California. Additionally, personnel working in the existing structures deal with overcrowded working areas and are often forced to store costly tools and materials outside due to lack of space in the current facilities. Finally, the 26 existing building are scattered over the base resulting in wasted man hours driving from facility to facility as well as unnecessary strain on command and control and logistical support.

Project Name: Travis Air Force Base North Gate

• Request Amount: 5000000
• Intended Recipient: Solano Transportation Authority
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: One Harbor Center, Suite 130; Suisun City, CA  94585
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would fund design, right-of-way and construction of access improvements to the North Gate of Travis AFB, to facilitate access to the base, which is home to the 60th Air Mobility Wing (AMW), the largest air mobility organization in the U.S. Air Force.

Project Name: Veterans Service & Resource Center

• Request Amount: 104888
• Intended Recipient: Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
• Full Street Address of the Intended Recipient: 3000 Campus Hill Drive; Livermore, CA 94551
• Explanation of the request: This request is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the Veterans Service and Resource Center at Las Positas College will serve as a place for Veterans to connect with each other and link with support services in the surrounding community. A key feature in ensuring successful assimilation and transition for the student Veteran is having a resource hub that addresses academic assistance, specialized student support services, and community backing for problems concerning benefits and other Veteran-specific issues. According to the California Troops to College Inter-segmental Taskforce, colleges face two major issues in addressing the needs of  veterans: adequate space and human resource support.