Welcome to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Congressional directed spending form.
Fiscal Year 2012
Throughout my time in Washington, I have fought to bring federal funding back to the 18th Congressional district of Houston to create jobs, strengthen our classrooms, build roads and infrastructure, diversify the economy, and provide valuable services for all Houstonians. Some of these accomplishments include funding to strengthen our highways and mass transit; and funding to bring cutting edge research and manufacturing to our Colleges and Universities; emergency programs such as the September 11th recovery money; disaster funding to help farmers and municipalities cope with extreme weather conditions; loan programs for veterans, students and small businesses; competitive grants for non for profit organizations, businesses, museums and libraries; and aid to local governments and institutions to address community needs.
With the uncertain economic climate and state budget shortfalls, the 18th Congressional district faces many challenges to maintain and improve our quality of life. Federal funding can help address some of these priorities and make the City of Houston an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Although some criticize "earmarks," as congressionally-directed funding, the Constitution provides Congress with authority to direct federal spending. Congressionally directed spending is consistent with the very core concepts in our democracy - decision making by directly elected officials, responsible to their constituents. I have always believed that elected officials from Texas know the state's needs better than a bureaucrat who may have never even been to our state before. To respond to some of the concerns that have been raised about congressionally-directed spending, I fought to support ethics reform legislation while in Congress. This legislation reformed the earmarking process, prevented wasteful spending and increased transparency. Indeed, this webpage and the similar ones on other Congressional websites is a direct result of our reform efforts.
Please know that the funding available for member-sponsored projects are limited, and there is no guarantee that funding can be secured for a particular project. In addition, while project funding may be recommended in the House-passed version of an appropriations bill, only those projects included in the final, enacted version of the bill will be funded. Recipients of federal funding sponsored by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee are asked to keep her and the appropriate staff member informed about the status of their projects.
Funding for projects designated in the enacted appropriations bills is administered by executive branch agencies as non-competitive grants or contracts. Designated grant recipients must complete an application from the relevant agency and are subject to that agency’s oversight requirements. For planning purposes, please be advised that any funding designated through the FY 2012 bills may not be available until mid-2012, and perhaps later, depending on when the bills pass and how quickly the recipient completes the application requirements. Note that federal law requires that an environmental assessment be performed for any federally-funded project involving construction or renovation.
All completed forms must be accompanied by a formal request letter addressed to Congresswoman Jackson Lee and a separate document outlining in detail the need for the project, a summary of the project, specifically how the requested funds will be used, and the project’s deliverables. All transportation and water and sewer projects must be on the State of Texas’s request list for consideration. This information must be received by close of business May 27, 2011 so that Rep. Jackson Lee has sufficient time to analyze it, possibly obtain additional information, discuss it with her colleagues and/or staff, and timely submit all worthy project requests before the relevant appropriations subcommittee deadline. Because mail sent to the House of Representatives is being substantially delayed for decontamination, DO NOT MAIL OR FED EX YOUR RESPONSE. Instead, the information should be e-mailed to FY2012Projects.JacksonLee@mail.house.gov. In addition to filling out this form in Microsoft Word format, please answer the appropriate questions in the attached Excel spreadsheet. Please email these forms to: FY2012Projects.JacksonLee@mail.house.gov.
* Please fill out the form(s) completely. Incomplete forms will not be considered.
