Funding Priorities in our Community

Since becoming a 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 – sometimes known as “earmarks” – 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 instituted wide-ranging reforms, including ensuring that every American can easily determine which member of Congress has submitted a request that receives funding.

Below you will find a list of my funding requests that have been included in the appropriations bills our committee has considered so far this year.

• Agriculture
• Commerce, Justice and Science
• Defense
• Energy and Water
• Financial Services
• Homeland Security
• Interior and Environment
• Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education
• Transportation, HUD

Agriculture

• Animal Plant Health Inspection Service – Pest Detection, Import Inspection ($693,000) – The project will train and establish regional dog teams operating out of least 5 or more California counties. Canine teams proactively and effectively detect incoming plant pests at county terminal stations and significantly reduce the potential costs to federal, state and local governments in eradication and control efforts.
• Animal Plant Health Inspection Service – Pest Detection, Pest Trapping ($581,000) – The project will expand the pest trapping program to cover more of the rural-residential areas. The program is maintained as a statewide network of insect traps and other detection tools to serve as an early warning system against serious agricultural pests. Traps are placed in high risk areas of the counties throughout the state near host trees and plants particular attractive to these pests. Project funds will be distributed to county agriculture commissioners through contracts administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The Department currently contracts with all counties in the State, and this project would provide additional funding to those agreements.

Commerce, Justice and Science

• City of San Jose Police Mobile Identification, Field Reporting, and Records Management Systems ($695,000) - Funds would complete ensure department-wide availability of mobile identification technology , and initiate addition of automated field reporting and upgraded records management systems , . These systems will to address reduce inefficiencies and enable better analysis and information sharing.
• County of Santa Clara for the Multidisciplinary Alternative Reception Center ($400,000) – In order to both prevent crime and expand alternatives to youth incarceration, funding would provide a facility for police to refer non-violent minors, where they would be assessed for risk and needs, and either referred to juvenile hall or freed with a Release Plan. The Release Plan would provide immediate referral of minors for cognitive intervention and/or other youth services.
• San Jose State University Collaborative Response to Victims of Domestic Violence ($440,000) - This project will initiate a new model of collaborative education, training and community response to victims of domestic violence. San Jose State University Foundation will foster interdisciplinary internship team placements in Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose.
• National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges - Judicial Education, Research, and Technical Assistance ($1.8 million) - This national project provides juvenile justice professionals, courts and system professionals the state-of-the-art information, training, technical assistance and research which will result in improved decision-making on cases involving at-risk youth.
• San Jose State University for Training the Next Generation of Weather Forecasters ($115,000) – Funds would be used to continue to develop a field experience class to broaden and enhance the undergraduate experience of B.S. Meteorology students at San Jose State University. The class will enhance students’ ability to recognize and forecast as wide an array of weather phenomena as is likely to be experienced in California in the next 30 years, which is expected to change as global climate change continues.
• Bio-Info-Nano Research and Development Institute (BIN-RDI) ($1.8 million) – The BIN-RDI at NASA Ames Research Center led by the University of California, Santa Cruz is a focal point in Silicon Valley for bio-info-nano convergence science and technology and will be based on a broad partnership of government, academia, and industry. The BIN-RDI will exert significant national influence on the progression of nanoscale science and technology research, education and socio-economic policy, and it enhances the research mission of NASA Ames in support of the Vision for Space Exploration.
• California Department of Justice Vision 2015 Criminal Justice Information Sharing Project ($500,000) - The project will enable the California Department of Justice to deploy mobile live scan devices in police vehicles in Santa Clara County to allow officers to immediately transmit arrestee fingerprints to CADOJ database. This will increase safety as well as save time and resources.
• Robotic Exploration Technologies in Astrobiology (RETINA) ($100,000) - RETINA provides comprehensive development and field operations of robotic systems/devices in pursuit of science and technology applications that will advance the mission of NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI) in exploring Earth and other worlds.  Funds would fill a program void in NAI, which lacks a dedicated technology team that can provide these capabilities.
• Child Abuse Training Programs for Judicial Personnel: Victims Act Model Courts Project ($920,000) - Funding would allow the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to improve outcomes for children in foster care systems by providing judges, court-related professionals and child welfare agencies with practical, concrete, and effective tools for creating court improvements in handling of child abuse and neglect cases.

Defense

• Advanced IED Jammer Research and Development Program ($2 million) – Funding for the research and development of the next generation electronic warfare system that defends against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) while simultaneously protects friendly tactical communications, adapts to changing threats, employs a network-centric approach to IED jamming, and utilizes hyper fast direction finding technology to locate threats.
• Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center at the Presidio ($1 million) – This would assist the Presidio Trust in establishing the Center within the Presidio of San Francisco, CA to serve as a public education center and adaptive re-use project that preserves the site of the U.S. Army’s first language school of 1941 and memorializes the heroic contributions of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) linguist soldiers of World War II, and in the Allied Occupation of Japan.
• Thermal and Electrical Nanoscale Transport (TENT) Program at Santa Clara University ($1.6 million) – This project will help in the design, fabrication and testing of nanoscale thermal and electrical interconnect devices for micro-scale components that have low thermal and electrical contact resistance, ballistic conduction, and high mechanical strength. Army sensor systems will benefit through the implementation of nanoscale components that are smaller, lighter, faster, less expensive, and more efficient.

Energy and Water

• Upper Guadalupe Flood Protection Project ($2.871 million) - This project that will provide flood protection for 7,500 homes in Santa Clara County with potential damages from a 100-year flood event exceeding $280 million. The project also will provide long-term environmental benefits for fish and wildlife habitat.
• Guadalupe River Flood Control Project ($2.871 million) - This multi-phased flood protection project along the Guadalupe River that is an integral component to downtown San Jose's revitalization efforts.
• South SF Bay Shoreline Study ($2.677 million) - This project that will restore the health of the San Francisco Bay, one of the nation's largest estuaries, by creating the largest restored wetlands on the West Coast providing extensive habitat for federally endangered species and migratory birds.
• Coyote and Berryessa Creek ($138,000) - The Coyote Creek project provides protection to the area downstream of Montague Expressway in Milpitas and San Jose where potential damages from a 1 percent flood exceed $250 million. The Berryessa Creek project elements include setback levees, floodwalls, sediment control structures and environmental restoration. The Berryessa portion of the project will protect the area from $202 million in damages from a 1 percent flood.
• Upper Penitencia Creek Project ($191,000) - This project that will provide flood protection to over 5,000 homes, schools and businesses in Santa Clara County, specifically the communities of San Jose and Milipitas, with potential damages from a 100-year flood exceeding $455 million, and will provide long term environmental benefits.
• San Jose Area Water Reclamation and Reuse program ($3.58 million) and the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program ($8 million) - This will help protect the San Francisco Bay environment by recycling 10 million gallons of reclaimed water each day and will permit the regional wastewater treatment plant to continue to discharge.
• Llagas Creek Project ($287,000) -This project that will serve a 104 mile watershed including residential, commercial and agricultural developments. Measures in the project include channel modifications and replacement of 35 road crossings.
• San Francisquito Creek ($335,000) - Funding will be provided for a study examining possible flood protection measures for the cities of Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and portions of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, while also protecting and enhancing long-term water quality, riparian, fish, and wildlife values.

Financial Services

• Silicon Valley Small Business Assistance Portal for the city of San Jose ($245,643) – This funding would expand and enhance a “one-stop” web-based tool integrating 40 local public, private, and non-profit partners for business planning, financial resources, regulatory and technical assistance services to small businesses in Silicon Valley.

Homeland Security

• Santa Clara Valley Water District – Predisaster Mitigation ($790,000) - This request will design and construct seismic retrofits to the operations buildings at water treatment and drinking water facilities in Santa Clara County, ensuring a reliable water supply following a seismic event to over 1 million residents in Santa Clara County.   The operations buildings have seismic deficiencies that pose a life safety risk for staff and visitors and a risk of water outages for Santa Clara County residents following a major earthquake. 

Interior and Environment

• San Jose Japantown Sewer Rehabilitation Project ($500,000) – Funding for this project will complete sewer infrastructure assessment, repair and replacement of an aging system in the historic Japantown area of San Jose.
• U.S. Geological Survey Biological Research Account ($500,000) – These funds would be used to conduct interdisciplinary monitoring (biological, hydrological, and water quality studies) of the North and South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds as part of the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration effort.
• Japanese American Confinement Sites ($1,000,000) – This will fund the historic preservation of Japanese American World War II Confinement Sites as authorized by Public Law 109-441.

Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS)

• Santa Clara County for Emergency Room Ultrasound ($233,000) – Santa Clara Valley Medical Center guarantees residents access to emergency medical care regardless of their ability to pay. As a Level 1 Trauma Center, VMC treats patients from other Counties in addition to Santa Clara County. These funds will enable SCVMC to acquire two ultrasounds machines with transducers and docking station, two transducer cleaning stations (required by OSHA and JCAHO), transducer cleaning supplies, and teaching modules for its Emergency Department which handles 80,000 admissions every year.
• Santa Clara County for Digital Mammography Unit ($404,000) –  Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) has two mammography units that are over 8-years-old and are used to perform over 6,000 screening and diagnostic mammograms as well as over 600 breast biopsies per year.  To provide patients with better care, VMC desires to replace this equipment with two digital mammography units that will improve diagnosis of breast cancer. Furthermore, as the teaching hospital for Stanford Hospital, UCSF School of Medicine, and other local institutions, it is crucial that SCVMC is able to provide the highest level of training for the medical students, interns, residents, and fellows who rotate through the hospital each year.
• Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) for Inspiring Education Excellence in Silicon Valley ($190,000) – SVEF brings a Silicon Valley business approach to improving education, inspiring tomorrow’s innovators by fostering creativity and innovation in education. These funds will support the Stepping up to Algebra program and Teacher Innovation Grants to advance students in math and provide teacher professional development.
• Project Cornerstone for the Expansion of School Partnerships ($143,000) – Project Cornerstone trains and mobilizes adults throughout Santa Clara County to intentionally work to develop healthy, caring, and responsible children and youth. This funding will be used to expand the School Partnerships Program to include 25 additional schools and to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach materials.
• Amalgamated Transit Union for the Joint Workforce Investment Transit Academy ($214,000) – The Joint Workforce Investment Transit Academy (JWITA) at VTA will train and promote incumbent workers up the career ladder, thereby creating a pipeline of living wage, entry level jobs with good benefits in addition to partnering with community colleges, workforce investment boards, social service agencies, and non profit organizations to do consistent outreach and recruitment to CALWORKS, working poor and disadvantaged community members.
• Health Trust of Santa Clara County for Youth Health Advocate High School Clubs from the CDC ($90,000) – Youth Health Advocate High School Clubs fights obesity and promotes health education by building on established networks, partnerships and programs of The Health Trust to create a system of health promotion that aligns with school goals for community service, incorporates proven methodologies (including the NIH’s CATCH Kids Club curriculum), and creatively engages youth by tapping into their interests in peer activities, technology skills, and opportunities for service and leadership.
• Walden West Foundation for the Walden West Science Learning Project ($48,000) – Walden West Center is positioned to inspire every student in Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley, to learn about and
  comprehend the important role that science plays in their daily lives and in the lives of those around them. The Center will use funds to develop green-science curriculum, provide teacher professional development, purchase laboratory equipment, and supplies.
• Children's Discovery Museum for the Student Partners Reaching Kids ($119,000) – The Student Partners Reaching Kids (SPRK) program serves fourth to ninth graders through a year long series in media, technology, project management and communication. The SPRK program emphasizes mentoring and service learning to engage students in the application of real-world science, math, and technology. These funds will be used to expand the SPRK program to provide increased access to low-income and high-risk youth.
• City of San Jose for Regional Homeless Medical Respite Care Initiative ($476,000) – The majority of Santa Clara County's homeless population lives in San Jose. Offering a medical recovery program that coordinates government programs into a single center is an innovative approach to the provision of medical services for homeless patients in critical need of government services and access to information in addition to freeing up vital health resources at Valley Medical Center.  
• City of San Jose for the Workplace Literacy Initiative ($95,000) – Start-up, one-time funding to initiate a workplace literacy program in the City of San Jose targeted at improving basic reading and writing skills for service industry workers. 
• Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) for Domestic Violence Shelter ($309,000) - AACI's current four bedroom shelter has only enough space to reasonably house up to nine clients; given the lack of county shelter beds, AACI has been forced to house as many as 14 clients. This funding will help AACI expand their emergency shelter for abused women and their children.

National LHHS Funding Requests

• Tribally Controlled Post-secondary Vocational Institutions program authorized under the Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act ($7,773,000)—This program awards grants to eligible tribally controlled post-secondary career and technical institutions to provide CTE to Indian students. Funds may be used by a grantee institution to: train teachers; purchase equipment; provide instructional services in CTE areas; provide child care and other family support services; provide student stipends; and, to fund institutional support for CTE programs. 
• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Program ($11,579,000)—This program helps eligible Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) increase their self-sufficiency and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.
• Education for Native Hawaiians ($33,315,000)—These programs assist native Hawaiians and supplement and expand programs and authorities in the area of education including, among others: early education and care programs; family-based education centers; beginning reading and literacy programs; activities to address the needs of gifted and talented native Hawaiian students; special education programs; professional development for educators; and activities to enable native Hawaiian students to enter and complete post-secondary education programs.
• Special Olympics for Special Olympics Educational Programs ($8,095,000) — This program is intended to provide opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to engage in sports training and competitive activities, leading to improvements in the quality of life.
• Native Hawaiian Health Care ($14,200,000)

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD)

• West Valley Community Services ($261,250) – This project would make accessible emergency assistance, basic needs and housing services to over 3,000 west valley residents of Santa Clara County through the opening of a satellite office in west San Jose.
• Bill Wilson Center ($213,750) – Funds would be used for the purchase and rehabilitation of a 28 unit apartment complex for permanent supportive housing for up to 33 youth from high-risk populations and 10 of their children, and 6 low-income nonprofit staff who will serve as mentors for the youth, totaling 48-55 residents.
• Housing Trust of Santa Clara County ($237,500) – Funds will be used for the revolving loan fund for the Low Income Down-payment Assistance Program to households with incomes up to 80 percent of Area Median Income.
• I-880/I-280/Stevens Creek Blvd. Interchange ($950,000) – The current I-880/I-280/Stevens Creek Blvd. Interchange structure is more than 30 years old and cannot accommodate the traffic volumes that occur at this location as motorists try to transition from one interstate facility to the other, or try to exit off of or merge on to the interstate facilities to and from Stevens Creek Blvd.