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WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives today approved a $555 billion spending bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008. President Bush has indicated that he will sign the measure.
Rep. Tom Petri noted that several of his funding requests are in the legislation.
The bill includes $589,980 to begin the engineering project for a bridge across the North Fond du Lac rail yard. "Working with local officials, I pushed for this because people have been stuck at the rail crossing for long periods of time while trains pass or park. That can be a big problem, especially for ambulances, the police and fire department," Petri said.
$393,320 was provided for work on State Highway 44 in Oshkosh. "This will help with needed improvements for this important roadway," Petri said.
$98,330 was appropriated for the Sheboygan Development Corporation to help fund the construction of the Great Lakes Aerospace Science and Education Center, also known as Spaceport Sheboygan. "This is important because it will help prepare local students for the jobs of the future, will bring tourists into the area, and will make us more attractive for science-based businesses," Petri said.
$4,236,056 was included in matching funds to help the state government rehabilitate the Fox River locks. This is in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the federal and state governments in 2000 which provided for Wisconsin to assume control of the federal locks. "The locks are an important part of our heritage, our quality of life and our ability to attract tourists. I worked on this along with Sen. Kohl and Rep. Kagen," Petri said.
$1,828,938 will be provided for dredging the Two Rivers Harbor and for breakwater and pier repair. Petri said Sen. Kohl helped acquire the funds.
Sen. Kohl also worked with Petri to include $191,594 in the bill for the University of Living Healthy Community Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and $176,856 for nursing programs and curriculum development at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc.
Working with Sen. Herb Kohl and Wisconsin Representatives Paul Ryan, Tammy Baldwin, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, David Obey and Steve Kagen, Rep. Petri helped to obtain $1,376,620 for the 1,200-mile-long Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin.
Petri further noted that his efforts resulted in $4 million for the purchase of M-Gator vehicles from the John Deere company as part of the Defense Department appropriations bill signed into law Nov. 13 by the President. The M-Gator, manufactured at the John Deere Horicon Works facility, is designed to carry supplies and casualties. They are being produced for high priority use by the Army Reserve units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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