Appropriation Requests
Below is a list of the appropriations requests I submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2010 listed in alphabetical order.
FY10 Appropriations Request (Alphabetical)
| Project | Constituent | Amount | Description |
| LOCAL PROJECTS | |||
| Abriendo Puertas -- Opening Doors of Education for Hispanic Students | Abriendo Puertas. 1500 Research Pkwy, Ste 150, 2259 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843 | $836,665 | training volunteers to provide the tools to empower minority, low-income parents to support their children's college access and participation. |
| Alamo Economic Development Corporation Industrial Park | City of Alamo, 420 Tower Road, Alamo, TX 78518 | $750,000 | create an industrial park to bring new business and industry to small community in one of the poorest counties in the country |
| Anderson Park Improvement- Alice | City of Alice, 500 E Main Street, Alice, TX 78332 | $255,000 | repair and replace pumping system at pool and renovate public restrooms at Anderson Park in a small, rural community |
| Bee County Sheriff's Department | Bee County Sheriff's Department, 1511 E Toledo, Beeville, TX 78102 | $250,000 | hire and equip deputies in small, rural county |
| Beeville Veteran's Park Pump Station | City of Beeville, 400 N Washington Street, Beeville, TX 78102 | $911,900 | upgrade water delivery system in small rural community |
| Borderland Birding Institute | American Birding Association, 4945 N. 30th Street, #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80901 | $800,000 | establish a national birding center at the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge to create jobs, coordinate research, provide environmental education and preserve habitat |
| Brooks County Boys and Girls Club | Brooks County, 217 E Miller Street, Falfurrias, TX 78355 | $100,000 | provide new building to house Boys and Girls Club in small, rural community |
| Colonias - Lower Rio Grande Basin | US Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, TX 77550 | $1,000,000 | provide assistance to help colonias (unincorporated communities along the border) build water and wastewater systems |
| Donna Rio Bravo International Bridge | General Services Administration, 819 Taylor Street Fort Worth , TX 76102. | $20,000,000 | construction funding to add federal, commercial inspection facilities to the new Donna/Rio Bravo Intl Bridge |
| FM 493 in Hidalgo County | TXDOT, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 | $5,200,000 | continue improvements to road leading to new Donna/Rio Bravo Intl Bridge. |
| Goliad Lighting and Utility Improvements | City of Goliad, P.O. Box 939, 152 W. End Street, Goliad, TX 77963 | $150,000 | provide historic lighting to downtown and place utilities underground to retain historic character of downtown |
| Hidalgo County Mobile Health Clinic | Hidalgo County Health Department, 1304 S 25th Street, Edinburg, TX 78539 | $400,000 | purchase a mobile health clinic in order to serve the thousands of indigent patients who have no transportation to existing clinics |
| Insitu Wastewater Main Replacement Project | City of Alice, 500 E Main Street, Alice, TX 78332 | $275,000 | provide new sewer mains in small rural community |
| International Arid Lands Consortium (joint letter) | International Arid Lands Consortium, 1955 E 6th St, Tucson, AZ 85719 | $850,000 | addresses issues in arid environments like water use, land management, energy and agriculture in partnership with Israel, Jordan and Egypt |
| La Feria Solar Power Lighting Initiative | City of La Feria, 115 E Commercial Ave., La Feria, TX 78559 | $1,000,000 | convert all city outdoor lighting to solar to serve as a model for small rural communities |
| La Villa Brush and Tanker Truck | City of La Villa, 916 S Mike Chapa, PO Box 60, La Villa, TX 78562 | $150,000 | purchase tanker and brush fire truck for small rural community |
| Lower Rio Grande Water Conservation Projects | Bureau of Reclamation, 1849 C Street NW Washington DC 20240-0001 | $4,000,000 | continue canal lining and piping projects to conserve water in drought prone area |
| McAllen Boys and Girls Club Mentoring Program | McAllen Boys and Girls Club, PO Box 577, McAllen, TX 78505 | $60,000 | renovate center and purchase computer equipment to serve at-risk, primarily Hispanic youth |
| Mile 6 West from Sh107 S to Mile 9 North | TXDOT, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 | $5,000,000 | widen and improve road |
| Mobile Simulation Lab | Coastal Bend College, 3800 Charco Rd, Beeville, TX 78102 | $250,000 | purchase a mobile simulation laboratory to mimic the clinical environment and demonstrate procedures, decisionmaking and critical thinking through the use of interactive mannequins to train nursing students throughout the region. |
| North Rail Relocation, Harlingen | TXDOT, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 | $5,000,000 | relocate rail lines and switching station to improve safety and move freight more efficiently from the International port |
| OATH Program | OATH Program, 405 N Adams, Beeville, TX 78102 | $50,000 | provide a clearinghouse for indigent patients to obtain free medication |
| PSJA Dropout Recovery/Employability Skills Training | PSJA ISD, 601 E Kelly Ave., Pharr, TX 78577 | $500,000 | work with local community college to serve dropout and at risk populations and train them for local workforce demands |
| Regional Radio Paging System | Refugio Volunteer Fire Department, 405 N Alamo, Refugio, TX 78377 | $245,000 | purchase radios and infrastructure for fire dept communication center in small, coastal county in hurrican zone |
| Research and Education Park | McAllen Economic Development Corporation, 6401 S. 33rd Street, McAllen, TX 78503 | $300,000 | design and plan research and development park focused on delivering customization for advanced manufacturing at a reduced cost to assist new manufacturing entities in starting their business |
| Restoration of Wetlands at Fennessey Ranch | Mission-Aransas NERR, University of Texas Marine Science Institute, 759 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373 | $110,000 | restore wetlands and provide species habitat in a unit of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve |
| RGV Food Bank Facility Renovation | RGV Food Bank, 2601 Zinnia Ave, PO Box 5251, McAllen, TX 78502 | $500,000 | retrofit building to consolidate existing food bank operations in one of the poorest counties in the country |
| San Juan Downtown Revitalization Master Planning | San Juan Economic Development Corp, 430 N Standard Ave, San Juan, TX 78589 | $365,000 | prepare master plan for revitalization and mixed-used redevelopment of historic downtown |
| South Texas International Airport | City of Edinburg, 415 W. University Dr., Edinburg, TX 78539 | $5,000,000 | extend runway, construct taxiway, upgrade lighting and security, build fire station and purchase equipment to meet FAA guidelines for fire safety and protection |
| South TX Border Health Disparities Center | UTPA, South Texas Border Health Disparities Center, 1201 W. University Dr, Edinburg, TX 78541 | $1,600,000 | conduct research, education and community outreach addressing health disparities in diabetes,cancer and obesity in Hispanic populations |
| Thomas Road | TXDOT, 125 East 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 | $3,000,000 | continue widening and reconstruction of collector road |
| Weesatche Water Supply Project | Goliad County Water Supply Corporation, 1040 SW Hwy 183, Goliad, TX 77963 | $638,324 | provide water services to a colonia that currently has no water services |
| NATIONAL PROJECTS | |||
| Education for Democracy | Center for Civic Education, 5145 Douglas Fir Road, Calabasas, CA 91302 and National Council on Economic Education, 1140 Avenue of the Americas, Ste 202, New York, NY 10036 | $35,000,000 | provides both civic and financial literacy programs to students |
| Reach Out and Read | 56 Roland Street, Ste 100-D, Boston MA 02129 | $10,000,000 | partnership with pediatricians to provide books to children during wellness visits |
| Reading is Fundamental | 1825 Connecticut Ave, NW, Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20009 | $28,000,000 | provides free books to students through federal private matching funds |
| Teach for America | Teach for America, 315 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018 | $25,000,000 | As authorized in PL 110-315, funding would go for the recruitment, selection, placement and professional development of an estimated 8200 first and second year teachers in low-income regions across the nation |
