3:00pm | Congressional subcommittees have recommended that Long Beach receive federal funding for an expansion to the St. Mary Medical Center, a feasibility study for the Long Beach Breakwater and an expansion to Long Beach City College.
Congressmember Laura Richardson (D-Carson, Long Beach) added the earmarks recently and each was approved by the respective subcommittees that reviewed them. Richardson also made proposals for federal funding to reach projects in Carson, Compton, Signal Hill and Watts. None of the funds have been approved with any finality but each has moved forward and will see further review. In total, the Congressmember’s suggestions total $3.7 million for her 37th District.
“I am particularly encouraged that these House appropriations will provide the funding to produce much needed jobs much for the construction of roads and emergency communication centers, enhance healthcare, furnish senior transportation and vital resources for the education of job training,” said Richardson, in a press release. “My next step is to work with my Senate colleagues to ensure the appropriation bills pass both Houses and are on to the President’s desk.”
About $600,000 in federal appropriations that would go toward the recently-approved feasibility study of the Long Beach Breakwater. The Army Corps of Engineers will conduct the study and contribute half of the $8million pricetag. Long Beach is expected to produce the other half of funding and this federal money could be used for that purpose. The study is expected to take four years to complete. The funding was recently recommended by the Appropriatons’ Subcommittee on Energy and Water.
“This project has been among my top priorities. I have been pushing hard on this every year to get this study going so that we can know once and for all if we need to reconfigure the breakwater,” said Congressmember Richardson. “We have reached that point to where we can begin this vital process.”
The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies also recommended $500,000 for an expansion to the Kellee Murchison-Bennett Women’s Heart Health Program at St. Mary Medical Center and $225,000 for an expansion of the programs and training provided by the Advanced Transportation Technology and Energy Centers (ATTEC) at Long Beach City College.
“These are very exciting steps for the people of the 37th District and our nation. I am proud to have been able to lead the way in securing essential federal dollars that benefit constituents in each of the cities that I serve, and I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to keep our nation moving forward,” Congresswoman Richardson said. “These funds will provide a positive economic impact to these communities, sustaining jobs and infusing a spirit of continued hope that our best days are ahead of us.”
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