Fighting for 8th District Priorities

The following document contains the details regarding the requests I am submitting to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration and possible funding. My office received dozens of requests totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. We will not submit all of them, only projects that create or protect jobs in the district, protect our men and women serving in the military, rebuild critical infrastructure, fight crime, improve our local health care system, prevent flooding or provide for other critical local needs. All of the projects went through careful vetting from my office as well as associated agencies. These items all represent a substantive need from Bucks, Montgomery or Philadelphia Counties, the Department of Defense, state, local and federal agencies, hospitals, townships and/or municipalities. These projects met at least two important criteria in our review: 1) is it good for the people, economy and future of the 8th District of Pennsylvania? and 2) is it good for the country and/or our military? I strongly believe that a crucial part of my job is to secure funds for such vital priorities as flood prevention for our communities, resources for our first responders and the newest technology for our armed forces to name just a few. I will keep working to make this process transparent and as beneficial as possible for the 8th District of Pennsylvania.

The following projects are listed by category and alphabetically. The projects in each category will be submitted to a specific Appropriations Subcommittee for review and possible funding. I will seek to secure funding for each project, understanding that the Appropriations Committee will make final decisions about which projects receive funding, and at what level. If project funding is included in an Appropriations bill in the House, that is NOT a guarantee of federal support. Once the House passes a bill, it must be reconciled with a Senate version and signed into law by the President.

Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities

The following contains the details regarding the requests for High Priority Projects I am submitting to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration and possible funding in the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill.

This legislation will fund transportation programs including highways, bridges, transit and rail for the next six years. The vast majority of funding in this bill is allocated to States on a formula basis. Members of Congress may submit requests for High Priority Projects (HPP) to be included in this bill, but the final decisions regarding which projects are funded and at what level is determined by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. HPPs are a very small portion of this bill. If project funding is included in the House version of the bill, that is NOT a guarantee of federal support. Once the House passes a bill, it must be reconciled with a Senate version and signed into law by the President. Congress will work hard to complete this reauthorization by the end of 2009; however, prior transportation reauthorizations have taken 1 to 2 years to complete.

The following projects are listed alphabetically by project sponsor. All of the projects went through careful vetting from my office, as well as local, regional, and state transportation agencies. Below, you will find information about each project including its safety, economic development, mobility, and environmental benefits as provided to my office by the project sponsor.

Water Resources Development Act

The following contains the details regarding the request I am submitting to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for consideration and possible inclusion in a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2010.

The Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment has jurisdiction over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Civil Works program – the nation’s largest water resources program. The Corps constructs projects for the purposes of navigation, environmental protection and restoration, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection, hydroelectric power, water supply, recreation, and aquatic plant control.

WRDAs are legislative vehicles that typically are exclusively dedicated to authorizing Corps activities and establishing policies for Corps civil works activities, such as cost-share requirements. Authorizations in WRDA usually fall under four general categories: studies, projects, modifications to existing authorizations, and programmatic authorizations.

WRDA projects are authorizations, not appropriations. This means that even if a project is included in final WRDA bill, Congress must approve funding for it in a separate appropriations bill. Many Corps projects are authorized, but do not receive yearly funding.

Click Here to View the 8th District Priorities I Submitted to the House Committee on Transportation & Transportation for a 2010 Water Resources Development Act