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Congressman John T. Salazar, Third District of Colorado

Congressman Salazar's Funding Priorities for Agriculture

As a new member of the Appropriations Committee, I have new oversight responsibilities for the spending of federal dollars, as well as an increased role in the prioritization of federal spending.

For too long, the process of Congressional funding requests lacked transparency and accountability, leading some members of Congress to abuse it and the public trust. Since assuming the majority in 2007, Congressional Democrats have significantly reformed the process, including ensuring that every American can easily determine which member of Congress has submitted a requests.

Below you will find a list of my funding requests in the Agriculture Appropriations bill.

Durango Streamed Watershed Demonstration Projects
$1,000,000
City of Durango
949 E. 2nd Avenue
Durango, CO 81301
Explanation: Durango's existing recycle center is 14 years old and has become insufficient to handle the amount and type of materials the community recycles. Plans for a new regional materials recycling facility include developing a single- or dual-stream processing facility, whereby recyclables are co-mingled at the curb. By making it convenient for the customer, this method also pulls the greatest amount of materials out of the waste stream, thereby protecting natural resources. The facility would include additional storage and processing space, energy-efficient solutions, paint and scrap metal collection, as well as methods to increase the types of materials accepted for recycling.

Fountain Creek Watershed Project
$3,000,000
Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District
801 Swink Ave
Rocky Ford, CO
Explanation: LAVWCD & CSU have partnered to create Fountain Creek Corridor Master Plan. The key goals for this project is to improve watershed health by reducing erosion, sedimentation and flooding; improving water quality; create stable riparian wetland ecosystems to attract and support native wildlife and vegetation; Sustain projective agricultural lands along the corridor; Create demonstration projects along the corridor.

Development of the Sangre de Cristo Heritage Center at San Luis, Colorado
$495,000
Costilla County Economic Development Council, Inc.
123 Gaspar St
San Luis, CO  81152
Explanation: Major renovation and construction grant funding in significant amounts is very difficult to obtain, especially in low-income areas. However, during this economic downtown, now being called "The Great Recession," job creation and maintenance has become a top priority of the current administration as well as that of Congress, and that is, and has been, true of most of rural America. This project will preserve a historic building complex, revitalize a key downtown area, create jobs, decrease energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a Center for cultural and agricultural tourism.

Crops for Health
$500,000
Colorado State University
203 Administration Building
Fort Collins, 80523
Explanation: The requested funding will also complement research projects on human disease prevention and on crop improvement at Colorado State University supported by the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Research Initiative, NASA, and the USDA.

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