In compliance with House Appropriations Committee rules, and in order to make the federal funding process as transparent as possible, posted below are descriptions of the requests for federal appropriations that Congressman Berman submitted for consideration for federal fiscal year 2011, which begins on October 1, 2010.
The federal appropriations process is a long and complicated one. Through this process, Members of Congress are able to recommend that funds from large government spending accounts be directed toward priorities in their home states and districts, or to national priorities. Responsible requests for funds on behalf of carefully scrutinized projects help address areas of need at the local level that would otherwise go unmet. Many facilities in the 28th Congressional District, including Sun Valley Park, the Pacoima Credit Union, and the Hansen Dam Recreation facilities owe their existence to federal appropriations that came as a result of such requests.
Congressman Berman received a total of over $75 million in funding requests this year. Below is a list of the requests actually submitted, after careful review, to the House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2011. These requests constitute roughly 20% of the total requests made of Congressman Berman’s office.
Branford Street and Laurel Canyon Blvd. Flood Improvements
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$250,000
Project funds are being requested to construct a new curb and gutter arrangement to alleviate flooding at the intersection of Laurel Canyon and Branford. This has been a longstanding issue in this area and of huge concern to the community. During periods of rain, the intersection becomes flooded and pedestrians, including children, are unable to cross the intersection and in some cases attend school.
Consumer Protection Resources to Combat Mortgage and Foreclosure Fraud in the Northeast San Fernando Valley
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$431,000
The City of Los Angeles will use funds to hire five investigators to conduct mortgage and foreclosure fraud investigations in the Northeast San Fernando Valley (NESFV) leading to the prosecution of those who commit mortgage and foreclosure fraud. The NESFV suffered from extremely high foreclosure rates in 2009; investigations will focus on Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hills, Pacoima, Panorama City, Sun Valley, Van Nuys, Sylmar, Reseda, and San Fernando.
Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$2,600,000
This study further defines the existing authorized “Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Study.” The LA River Ecosystem Restoration will build upon the existing study and incorporate input from the City of Los Angeles’ Master Plan for the LA River to improve flood control ability and include vegetation and recreation opportunities for the City of Los Angeles and the communities that abut the River.
Van Nuys Blvd. Utility Undergrounding
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$450,000
The City will replace approximately two miles of overhead utility services wiring along the north side of Van Nuys Blvd. with a safer, more reliable underground system and simultaneously build in internet service capacity. The project will eliminate blight and contribute to economic revitalization. The project area is in a Northridge Earthquake Redevelopment Project Area and a targeted corridor of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles.
Veterans VASH Improvement Program
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$200,000
This program will provide move-in assistance, emergency stabilization funds, and housing location funds to expedite the usage of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers for homeless veterans. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) will work with the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA-HS) to disperse funds to landlords, housing locators and other parties in a coordinated fashion. HACLA and the VA-HS received 1,080 VASH vouchers. Currently, there is a gap between the allocation of VASH vouchers and their use due to low vacancy rates for affordable housing (heightened by the foreclosure crisis), and the lack of local resources to cover security deposits and furnishing costs. As a result, only about 700 of these vouchers are currently in use. The City of Los Angeles estimates that there are over 7,000 veterans in Los Angeles County who could potentially benefit from a VASH voucher. Funding would allow the City to allocate all available vouchers to homeless veterans.
Youth Leadership Academy
San Fernando Police Department
910 First St.
San Fernando, CA 91340
$390,000
The project is a structured physical and academic approach to youth development in the City of San Fernando. The curriculum includes instruction focused on preventing juvenile delinquency, deterring gang activity and teen pregnancy, and encouraging academic achievement, good nutrition, and water safety.
U.S.-Middle East Breast Cancer Awareness and Research
American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem
59 W. 45th St.
New York, NY 10036
(no dollar amount request)
This project promotes peace through medicine. Breast cancer research focused on Arab women and carried out by Israeli, American and Palestinian doctors is a powerful message to the Middle East that there are tangible benefits from mutual cooperation.
Raphael Lemkin Center for Genocide Prevention training program
Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
870 Fifth Ave., #9H
New York, NY 10065
(no dollar amount request)
The Raphael Lemkin Center for Genocide Prevention trains mid-level government officials in the latest genocide and violent conflict prevention and intervention strategies. The trainees are policy makers employed for at least five years, who are nominated by their governments for their leadership potential.
California Innocence Project
California Western School of Law
225 Cedar St.
San Diego, CA 92101
$500,000
The California Innocence Project assists indigent inmates with claims of innocence and provides law students with unique experience and insight into the criminal justice system.
The project serves inmates who may be innocent of the crimes that they have been accused of committing, and whose innocence could now be proven through technology unavailable to them at the time of trial who do not have the legal resources available to them to pursue their claims. Since its inception, California Western has received more than 5,000 requests for assistance from inmates in Southern California. With limited staffing and investigative resources, the project has attempted to respond to as many of those requests as possible. With funding, the Innocence Project will receive, process, and evaluate more than 600 requests for assistance that fall within the eligibility criteria; conduct a full investigation and seek biological material in 50 cases; and represent inmates in trial court and file Penal Code Section 1405 motions in a minimum of five cases.
Gang Prevention through Female Empowerment
Communities in Schools of the San Fernando Valley/Greater Los Angeles (CIS-SFV)
8743 Burnet Ave.
North Hills, California 91343
$400,000
CIS-SFV will use funding to encourage and empower young women to resist gang lifestyles and violent behavior. The project will serve 50 gang-oriented and gang-involved females and their families by providing family-centered service delivery tailored to each participant’s needs. Services will include case management, home visits, social and counseling services for the young women and their families, mental health counseling, job preparedness and parenting classes, and academic tutoring. CIS has been named the “model” program for gang intervention by the State of California, LA County and the City of LA; funding will advance CIS-SFV’s mission to “bring the community together to reduce violence, promote peace, and create safer environments for the maximum development of children and young adults at risk in their lives.”
Jobs Create Peace
Communities in Schools of the San Fernando Valley/Greater Los Angeles (CIS-SFV)
8743 Burnet Avenue
North Hills, California 91343
$600,000
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the San Fernando Valley is home to at least 80 known gangs and a high level of gang-related crime. CIS has a proven track record of bringing communities together to reduce violence and create safer environments for at risk children and young adults. The project brings together the LA Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development, the LA Workforce Investment Board, the LA County Probation Department, and local labor unions and businesses, all of whom have committed to working with CIS to provide job readiness skills, basic educational skills training, supportive services, and job placement assistance to high-risk, heavily-barriered young adults in the San Fernando Valley.
Family Health Care Clinic Equipment Upgrade
El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.
8902 Woodman Ave.
Arleta, CA 91331
$330,000
El Proyecto will use funds to remodel/renovate the first floor pediatric wing and upgrade the equipment at their Family Health Care Clinic in Arleta. Funds will allow the clinic to purchase several new pieces of equipment necessary for patient care, including a mammography unit digital X-ray, digital ultrasound, hemoglobin machine, exam tables, and blood pressure units. These improvements will provide better access to health care services for the entire community.
Early Childhood Development Center
Exceptional Children's Foundation
8740 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
$324,000
With this funding, Exceptional Children's Foundation, the most comprehensive agency in California providing life-span services to people with developmental disabilities, will expand its presence in Arleta with the establishment of the Early Childhood Development Center. ECF provides early childhood education, speech, and physical therapy to over 280 children, from birth to 3 years of age, with autism, mental retardation, or other developmental delays in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Through collaboration with other community agencies, this family-centered complex will also offer Head Start, child care, WIC services, and a well baby clinic, all of which will well-serve the residents of Arleta. Funding is for construction of a new therapy wing.
Harmony Project
The Harmony Project
817 Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
$500,000
Harmony Project provides music education and performance opportunities through an after school program to keep at-risk students safe, in school, and out of gangs. Instruction occurs at Title I elementary and middle schools year-round. Students work closely with professional musician mentors for a minimum of 6 hours/week and commit to hours of weekly practice at home. They demonstrate their learning in public recitals. Funding will allow the Harmony Project to serve 280 additional LAUSD students in CD-28.
Care Management for At-Risk Cases
Healthcare Research and Quality Institute
1665 Michael Ln.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
$100,000
This work uses an online patient self-assessment system to gather a comprehensive patient history at the outset of care. The online tool is accessible over the Internet and allows patients to thoroughly describe their medical histories in advance of doctor appointments. This tool allows doctors to better target care to patient needs, which can improve outcomes and reduce the high costs of inappropriate care delivered when physicians cannot base care on a complete and thorough history. Funds will be used for broader development and outcome analysis.
Your Economic Success (YES) Financial Education Program
Initiating Change in Our Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation (ICON CDC)
12502 Van Nuys Blvd., Ste. 120
Pacoima, CA 91331
$300,000
YES is a financial education program for high school juniors and seniors. The 10 hour curriculum helps to build knowledge and confidence for a secure financial future. Topics taught include banking basics, including budgeting and saving; use of mainstream banking institutions; how to open and maintain a checking account; understanding credit; applying for post-secondary financial aid; retirement plans; and skills to find and keep a job. Pacoima and the surrounding communities have limited exposure to financial institutions and a high percentage of families are unbanked. Funds will help connect the younger generation of residents with financial tools and tools to promote responsible money management.
At-Risk Youth & Teen Outreach Program
Mid Valley Family YMCA
6901 Lennox Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91405
$400,000
The project responds to the needs of low-income, at-risk youth and teens in the Mid San Fernando Valley. The program continuum is built to give youth and teens the tools and confidence needed to avoid gang involvement and related activities, combat childhood obesity, and encourage achievement. The YMCA Youth & Teen Outreach Program elements include: Youth & Teen Fitness & Arts, Youth Sports & Camp, Youth After-School Enrichment, and Teen Space. The YMCA operates these activities at its main facility and on a LAUSD campus, serving 800+ youth and teens annually. The YMCA never turns away a family in need due to financial hardship; funding will bridge a budget gap caused by widespread economic difficulty in the Mid Valley.
Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Monterey Institute for International Affairs
460 Pierce St.
Monterey, CA 93940
$2,000,000
The Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute for International Affairs provides substantive and technical training to individuals to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. A substantial percentage of its graduates serve in the U.S. intelligence community and in other official capacities.
Ramirez Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, CA
National Park Service
1849 C St. NW
Washington, DC 20240
$4,000,000
The funds will go toward the acquisition of lands to preserve Ramirez Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area near Los Angeles. The 110-acre Ramirez Canyon property provides a trailhead for public access to Zuma and Trancas Canyons and connects already protected lands. Parcel owners have expressed a willingness to sell the land, which will likely otherwise be developed. According to a National Parks Conservation Association "State of the Parks" report, on average 1,300 acres of private land within the park are developed each year. These areas used to be home to the Chumash Indians, and many artifacts from them still exist. The property has high value for conservation, historical preservation, and recreational opportunities.
San Fernando Valley Rehabilitation Program
People in Progress, Inc.
8140 Sunland Blvd.
Sun Valley, CA 91352
$380,000
People in Progress provides intervention and support to individuals and families in crisis and living below the poverty line through services addressing substance abuse, economic deprivation, hunger and homelessness. Funds will allow the organization to buy a vacant, 11,000 square foot building that will provide homeless veterans who have substance abuse and/or mental health issues with housing and space for service delivery, including counseling offices, meeting rooms, case management, and recreational space. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimates that there are 7,500 homeless veterans in Los Angeles County at any given time. Once operational, the program will be self-sustaining.
Strengthening Family and Mental Health Services for Underserved Youth in Los Angeles County
Phoenix House
11652 Eldridge Ave.
Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
$300,000
The Phoenix Academy of Los Angeles is the only facility providing long-term residential substance abuse rehabilitative treatment for adolescents in the county. It provides vital residential and outpatient services to youth and families struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues. Phoenix Academy’s clients are underserved and impoverished youth affected by drug addiction and mental health problems. This funding will enable the Phoenix Academy to: extend outpatient and outreach services; offer assistance to young people and their families more efficiently; provide a range of culturally sensitive, graduated interventions including outpatient and residential programs; and ensure the availability of appropriate post-treatment alternatives, such as aftercare, alumni groups and transitional housing.
Seeds of Peace International Camp and Regional Programming in the Middle East and South Asia
Seeds of Peace
70 Lexington Ave., Suite 401
New York, NY 10017
(no dollar amount request)
Every summer for the past sixteen years, Seeds of Peace, headquartered in New York City, has brought American, Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, and, more recently, Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan teenagers together to its International Camp in Maine with the goal of dispelling fear, hatred, and misunderstanding, and to foster a new generation of leadership.
Coalition Against Hate: Reforming Rule of Law by Combating Hate Crimes and Discrimination in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
P.O. Box 11676
Washington, D.C., DC 20008
(no dollar amount request)
The project targets the key bellwethers of corrupt and dysfunctional justice systems, i.e., uncontrolled anti-Semitic/xenophobic hate crimes and widespread discrimination against ethnic/religious minorities. Principal "at risk" groups include migrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus, black African students, Armenians, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians and Jews.
Middle East Regional Security Issues Program
University of California, San Diego, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92093
$5,000,000
The Middle East Regional Security Issues Program provides a unique forum for U.S. military officials to interact with counterparts from Israel and Arab countries in a confidential setting to discuss critical issues in the region that have a direct bearing on U.S. national security.
Water Conservation and Supply Feasibility Study (Hansen Dam)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
915 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 980
Los Angeles, CA 90017
$200,000
This project will reduce the region's reliance on imported water by increasing local supply, improving water supply reliability for the region as a whole. Current water supply needs for the County of Los Angeles are met through local water supply and imported water. Approximately one third of this need is met through local supply and reclaimed water with the remaining two thirds from imported supplies from several western states, making this project nationally significant. Funds will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to complete required environmental documents and update a study performed in 2000, which are required to move forward with the project.
Sun Valley Watershed Feasibility Study
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
915 Wilshire Blvd, Ste. 980
Los Angeles, CA 90017
$800,000
The Sun Valley Watershed is a 2,800-acre (4.4-square-mile) urban watershed tributary
to the Los Angeles River. The underserved, urban Sun Valley community has experienced severe, chronic flooding for over 40 years, and as a result suffers a lack of recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. The funds requested would be used by the Corps of Engineers for the feasibility phase, which will continue the investigation of environmental restoration, water quality improvement, flood mitigation, and other related issues within the Sun Valley Watershed.
Pacoima Training Center
Valley Economic Development Center
5121 Van Nuys Blvd., Third Floor
Van Nuys, CA 91403
$198,360
The Pacoima Training Center (PTC) assists low income and TANF recipients in obtaining employment. This project is focused in the Northeast San Fernando Valley and serves a community that has historically struggled economically and has been hit extremely hard during this economic crisis. PTC works closely with local businesses and offers comprehensive services that provide participants with job readiness assessments, career counseling, job training, resource referrals, and financial literacy training. Since its inception in 2009, the program has been instrumental in creating 47 new jobs in the community.
Promoting Women's Effective Political Participation
Women's Campaign International
3701 Chestnut St., 6th Floor
Philadeliphia, PA 19104
(no dollar amount requested)
Women's Campaign International (WCI) creates opportunities for women around the world to enter the political process. WCI works to increase women's participation in democracy, governance, and conflict mitigation through programs in Afghanistan, Colombia, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi and Sri Lanka.
North Valley After School Program
YWCA Greater Los Angeles
3345 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 300
Los Angeles, CA 90010
$400,000
At its North Valley Center, YWCA provides critically-needed after school programs for children ages 5–12, 95% of whom are Latino and 5% of whom are special needs students. Approximately 90% of the participants live in single parent households or with other relatives. Funds will allow YWCA to more than double the number of families it serves by adding a modular unit to its North Valley site to better meet the needs of the community.
# # #
