Representative Scott Peters Secures More Than $13.8 Million for Local Projects in Government Funding Package

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2024
Media contact: Kelly Davis
Kelly.Davis@mail.house.gov
                
(Press release originally issued by Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) and reposted here.)
 
SAN DIEGO — This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Fiscal Year 2024 funding package that advances and invests in major national and local priorities that Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) fought to include. The funding package now moves to the Senate for approval.
 
House Democrats were successful in removing harmful House Republican policies from the funding bills that attempted to make abortion illegal everywhere, slash efforts to fight climate change, and threaten our national security. Instead, these final bipartisan 2024 funding bills will help keep our communities safe, fight inflation, and boost our economy. Taken together, the funding for California’s 50th District and for critical government programs will continue to grow our economy and support our communities.

$13.8 million for local projects and programs

This year, the funding package included more than $13.8 million for community projects in California’s 50th congressional district.

• $850,000 for Bradley Park Lighting Upgrades (City of San Marcos)
• $959,752 for Harbor Drive Pump Station 1 and 2 Project (City of San Diego)
• $850,000 for the Clean and Safe San Diego Parks Initiative (City of San Diego)
• $4,116,279 for the Coastal Rail Trail Bikeway Project (City of San Diego)
• $1 million for Early Childhood Education Center (UC San Diego)
•  $500,000 for Electrical Infrastructure Improvements Project (San Diego County Regional Airport Authority)
• $1 million for Grand Avenue Improvements (City of Escondido)
• 472,000 for Green Line Passenger VMS and PA System Upgrades (San Diego Metropolitan Transit System)
• $1.5 million for Homeless Shelter Expansion and Capital Improvements (City of San Diego)
• $220,000 for Implementing Rapid DNA Technology (Escondido Police Department)
• $959,752 for San Dieguito Valley Brackish Groundwater Desalination Project (Olivenhain Municipal Water District)
• $500,000 for San Diego At-grade Crossing Elimination Study (San Diego Association of Governments)
• $425,000 for San Diego Bay Aquaculture Planning Study (Port of San Diego)
• $500,000 for the Bus Fleet Replacement Project (North County Transit District)

Details about each project can be found here: Appropriations Requests for Fiscal Year 2024.

“Delivering funding directly to these projects will make our communities safer and healthier,” said Rep. Peters. 

“In the past two years, Congressman Peters has delivered more than $17 million in community project funding that is helping rebuild our City,” said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. “This year’s funding will help us continue to expand our City’s homeless shelter system, address our stormwater infrastructure deficit, and increase safety throughout our parks system. This is government working together to deliver for San Diegans.”

"We are grateful to Rep. Peters for helping to secure this critically needed funding for our Electrical Infrastructure Improvements Project," said Kim Becker, President/CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. "This grant will help ensure the continued reliability and resiliency of San Diego International Airport's power supply, and it will help us create an exceptional airport experience for the community and the world for decades to come."

"The Port is a long-time champion and catalyst of the blue economy," said Chairman Frank Urtasun, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. "This study will build upon the aquaculture planning and pre-development work to date and support the needed design, engineering, and planning studies to inform land-based aquaculture infrastructure opportunities and help us continue to make our mark as the Blue Tech Bay."

“This funding from Congressman Scott Peters is critical to advancing NCTD’s transition to 100 percent zero emission operations,” said North County Transit District Board Chair Jewel Edson. “These battery electric buses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality in the surrounding communities, and enhance service reliability.”

"One of government’s most fundamental obligations is to provide for the safety of the community. For that reason, I am extremely proud that with the help of Congressman Peters, the Escondido Police Department is the first agency in San Diego County to obtain Rapid DNA technology. I believe that Rapid DNA will expedite criminal offender identification, which ultimately leads to the arrest and subsequent conviction of those who set out to harm members of our community. In the end, we will have fewer victims of crime and an overall safer Escondido,” said Escondido Chief of Police Edward Varso.

“Reliability is a key factor in a rider’s public transit journey, including knowing when your next bus or train will be arriving,” said Stephen Whitburn, MTS Board Chair and San Diego City Councilmember. “This funding helps us ensure passengers have technology that clearly displays accurate service information or safety updates. Thanks to the leadership of Congressman Scott Peters, we’re able to continue creating faster, smarter and better transit for our community.”

Other Key Funding Wins

Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 

The Military Construction (MilCon) and Veterans Affairs (VA) portion of the funding package includes significant allocations that will help military families, bolster medical services, and assist unhoused veterans both locally and nationwide.

• San Diego MilCon projects:
  • $5.6 million for planning and design of a child development center at MCAS Miramar
  • $6.2 million for planning and design of a childhood development center at Naval Base San Diego
  • $103 million for MCAS Miramar ambulatory care center and dental clinic
  • $101.6 million for MCRD San Diego ambulatory care center and dental clinic 
• $16.2 billion for VA mental health programs, including $559 million for suicide prevention outreach
• $3.1 billion for veteran-focused homeless assistance programs
• $1.3 billion for the continued implementation of the VA’s electronic health records system
• $715 million for opioid misuse prevention among veterans

“Military personnel take an oath to protect our country; we have a duty to provide them with access to quality health care and, for those with families, quality child care,” said Rep. Peters. “And for those veterans who are struggling with addiction, mental illness, or homelessness, we owe them the opportunity to engage in services that will help them regain their footing. We must keep our promises to the men and women who volunteered to fight for our freedom and security.”

Housing and Homelessness

• $32.4 billion for tenant-based rental assistance. This funding will continue to serve more than 2.3 million very low- and extremely low-income households across the country and includes:
  • $30 million to expand housing assistance for youth aging out of foster care.
  • $22.5 million for HUD/VA Supportive Housing for Homeless Veterans and Native American Veterans programs.
• $16 billion for project-based rental assistance. This funding will continue to house more than 1.2 million very low- and low-income households nationwide. This funding level is $2 billion higher than FY23 funding levels. It includes: 
  • $913 million to continue supportive services and affordable housing assistance for low-income seniors. 
• $9 billion for public housing, including $3.2 billion to improve the quality and safety of public housing for over 1.7 million residents.
• $4.05 billion for homeless assistance grants. It includes:
  • $100 million for the construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation of new permanent supportive housing to expand housing options for people experiencing homelessness.
  • $159 million for homeless youth and survivors of domestic violence, including $107 million for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. Since 2019, Rep. Peters has led the appropriations request for this program.

“Homelessness is a housing problem,” said Rep. Peters. “This funding bill prioritizes spending on programs that will get people off the street and into safe and stable housing—the necessary first step toward rebuilding their lives. It’s important that this funding will help some of our most vulnerable populations—youth, seniors, and people in need of housing that’s combined with supportive services.”

Energy and Climate

• $280 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity to increase the resilience and efficiency of the electric grid and connect communities to cleaner, more reliable power
• $3.5 billion for renewable energy, weatherization, and energy efficiency, ensuring American leadership in the transition to a global clean energy economy
• $8.2 billion – an increase of $140 million – for research in physics, biology, chemistry, and other disciplines to expand scientific understanding and secure America’s global leadership in energy innovation

Tijuana River Valley

The bill includes $35 million for the Border Water Infrastructure Program. This money will help finance critical infrastructure projects focused on public health and the environment on both sides of the border, including repairing and upgrading the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has been a priority for Rep. Peters.

Public Safety

• $4.5 billion for grants to state and local law enforcement, including: 
  • $713 million for Violence Against Women grants, an increase of $13 million from FY23
  • $664.5 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program
  • $50 million for Community Violence Intervention and Prevention programs
  • $117 million for Second Chance Act programs

Climate and Environment

• $6.4 billion for investments in weather forecasting capabilities and climate research. This will increase the ability of our federal agencies to make strong investments in climate preparedness
• $6.1 billion for wildland fire management, which includes $2.7 billion in fire suppression funding. This funding will be used to support firefighters, increase wildfire preparedness, as well as other functions needed to maintain fire readiness and firefighting capabilities

“These investments are paramount for reaching our climate goals and investing in the clean energy of the future,” said Rep. Peters.

Food Security

• $7.03 billion for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition assistance program, $1.3 billon above the 2023 level, which served nearly 6.6 million
• $119 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which served more than 42 million people in 2023
• $33 billion for child nutrition programs, including $10 million for school breakfast equipment grants and $5 million for the Farm to School program

Medicaid

• Requirement that state Medicaid programs cover all forms of medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder, including methadone, counseling services, and behavioral therapy

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