FY2024 COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING
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As part of the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations process, each Member of Congress could submit Community Project Funding requests to the House Appropriations Committee to direct federal funding to their Congressional District to support specific projects. Each Member was only allowed to submit a very limited number of Community Project Funding requests, and each submission had to meet strict requirements to qualify under the House Appropriation Committee’s guidelines. Below are the Community Project Funding requests I submitted for the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations cycle. The requests represent projects across the Panhandle and North Texas that would benefit Texas' 13th Congressional District. Each project will address critical community needs, is supported by local community leaders, and responsibly allocates federal resources. To remain transparent with my constituents, I have listed them alphabetically by subcommittee, certifying that I have no personal financial interest in any of them.
Project Name: Hereford TX Surgical Robotic Project Project Recipient: Hereford Regional Medical Center Recipient’s Address: 540 W 15th, Hereford, Texas 79045 Amount Requested: $2,500,000 Purpose of Project: Hereford Regional Hospital is a full-service health care facility in Hereford, Texas, and the only one in Deaf Smith County. Hereford treats patients from the region, with many people traveling long distances for care. The surgery department serves a large geographic area and is under-resourced. As many rural hospitals in Texas face immense strain and risk closure, Hereford was recognized for its work in the region and is helping patients in rural communities across the panhandle and west Texas. The Hereford TX Surgical Robotic project will allow the Hereford Regional Medical Center to develop a robotic surgery program to train current surgeons and residents and increase health care access in the community. Clinical robotic surgical procedures are minimally invasive, have resulted in fewer patient complications, and can result in shorter hospital stays. With this funding, Hereford can purchase a robotic surgical system that they can use to provide more surgical services to the Hereford and surrounding communities.
Project Name: Pampa TX & TTUHSC Infant Risk Center Collaborative Project Recipient: The City of Pampa, Texas Recipient’s Address: 200 W Foster Ave #205, Pampa, Texas 79066 Amount Requested: $3,000,000 Purpose of Project: The Pampa TX & TTUHSC Infant Risk Center Collaborative will expand and improve maternal health in Pampa, Texas, and surrounding communities.The City of Pampa, Texas, a rural community where the local hospital no longer has a labor and delivery unit, will use the funding to work with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center on behalf of at-risk pregnant women in the community. Specifically, this funding will be used to purchase IT equipment and improve a facility for practitioners and community members. The IT equipment will be used to connect pregnant women in Pampa, Texas, surrounding communities, and the Health Sciences Center through an audio/visual interface to provide telehealth services as needed. Member Signed Certification Letter Project Name: West Texas A&M University Foundation Feedlot Educational Training Facility Canyon, TX Project Recipient: West Texas A&M University Foundation Recipient’s Address: 2501 4th Avenue, Canyon, Texas 79016 Requested Amount: $3,000,000 Purpose of Project: The funding for this project will be used to construct and build an educational training facility primarily designed to educate and train personnel for feedlot and feed mill operation in the rural communities of the Texas High Plains and Panhandle. The cattle feeding industry is an integral part of the Texas Panhandle economy, generating over $16.5 billion in value. The agriculture industry is facing numerous challenges when producing the food the world relies on, including shortages of quality labor. This center will help secure well-trained labor to improve economic efficiencies, animal welfare, and stable labor opportunities for the rural population. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Name: Randall County Sheriff’s Office Rapid DNA System, Amarillo, TX Project Recipient: Randall County Sheriff’s Office Recipient’s Address: 9100 South Georgia Street, Amarillo, Texas 79118 Requested Amount: $482,630 Purpose of Project: The funding for this project would be used to purchase a Rapid DNA System, which will allow better access to process DNA for agencies in the region as opposed to using the crime lab which has a lengthy backlog for most cases and at times will not accept property crime cases for processing. This system will help to reduce and prevent crime, ultimately streamlining the judicial system ensuring taxpayer dollars are being invested wisely. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Recipient: Midwestern State University Recipient’s Address: 3410 Taft Blvd, Wichita Falls, Texas 76308 Requested Amount: $2,400,000 Purpose of Project: The MSU STEM Enhancement Initiative will enhance the computational research and laboratory facilities within Midwestern State University’s Bolin Science Hall by upgrading information technology infrastructure and connecting it to forensic workstations for training students to analyze and react to cybersecurity threats, establishing a computing cluster to allow students and faculty to engage in big data analytics for issues in cybersecurity and engineering, and improving computing laboratories to facilitate team-based learning for engineering and computer science projects and innovation. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Recipient: Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine Recipient’s Address: 7671 Evans Drive, Amarillo, Texas 79106 Requested Amount: $1,195,000 Purpose of Project: The funding for this project would be used for the purchase of advanced turnkey histological preparation equipment, the bio-log phenotypical characterization of cells to integrate with existing genomic capabilities, quantitative real-time PCRs, a cell imager, and hand-held ultrasound technologies. The Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine is uniquely established to educate and train students to return to rural communities to provide veterinary services. The cross-cutting equipment that will be provided to the students of Texas Tech University’s School of Veterinary Medicine will be essential for the training and scientific research needed to establish well-rounded veterinarians for rural communities. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Recipient: City of Amarillo Recipient’s Address: 601 South Buchanan Street, Amarillo, Texas 79101 Requested Amount: $2,050,000 Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Name: Runaway Bay Wastewater Infrastructure Update Project Recipient: City of Runaway Bay Recipient’s Address: 101 Runaway Bay Drive, Runaway Bay, Texas 76426 Requested Amount: $5,300,000 Purpose of Project: The City of Runaway Bay’s wastewater system has deteriorated at a significant rate, where even during moderate amounts of rainfall raw sewage is flowing into residential areas, creeks, and Lake Bridgeport. The funding from this project would be used to complete ten emergency wastewater projects that will prevent untreated wastewater from flowing into Lake Bridgeport and reduce the exposure and health risks associated with contaminated drinking water. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Recipient: Red River Authority of Texas Recipient’s Address: 3000 Hammon Rd, Wichita Falls, Texas 76310 Requested Amount: $2,464,000 Purpose of Project: The Red River Authority of Texas’s water systems in Vernon, Texas are slowly decaying and are no longer sustainable, causing their rural customers to deal with continual outages from leaks and increased rates to deal with water loss and updates to the infrastructure. Funds for this project will be used to meet regulatory compliance for pressure and storage, including upgrading the Vernon West Pump Station, constructing a new water tower, and upgrading distribution lines. This project will upgrade the Vernon West pump station with new piping, electrical equipment, pumps to meet the gallons per minute pumping requirements, and a generator quick connect. Furthermore, this project will include rehabilitating the existing storage tank and constructing a new 75,000-gallon elevated storage tank to provide pressure and storage to the entire system. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Recipient: Red River Authority of Texas Recipient’s Address: 3000 Hammon Rd, Wichita Falls, Texas 76310 Requested Amount: $476,000 Purpose of Project: The Red River Miscellaneous Pump Station & Tank Renovations will repair and replace aging infrastructure in their water and sewer systems in Hall and Motley Counties. These funds will be used to make improvements at the LA Tucker & Nimmo Pump Stations, including tank rehabilitation and pump station upgrades. This project will include replacing pumps, piping, surface preparations, recoating of interior and exterior of storage tanks, pressure tanks, electrical, control work, and addition of generator quick connects. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Name: Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Training Program. AMA, Amarillo, TX Project Recipient: City of Amarillo Recipient’s Address: 601 South Buchanan Street, Amarillo, Texas 79101 Requested Amount: $4,500,000 Purpose of Project: The funding for this project would be used to bring the Amarillo International Airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Training program up to current FAA standards. Specifically, funds will be used to acquire a new fire simulator, including airplane prop, propane infrastructure, and construction of a control building with required communications and electric equipment. Member Signed Certification Letter
Project Name: US 287 Interstate Design, Amarillo to Dumas, Texas, 13th Congressional District. Project Recipient: Texas Department of Transportation Recipient’s Address: 125 E 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Requested Amount: $4,000,000 Purpose of Project: This project would initiate planning as recommended by the Ports-to-Plains Corridor Interstate Feasibility Study Final Report published in October 2020 by the Texas Department of Transportation. These planning funds would be used on US 287 from Dumas to Amarillo, approximately 38 miles, for Project Feasibility, Preliminary Design, and Environmental Studies. Member Signed Certification Letter Project Name: State Loop 335 Widen Non-Freeway, Amarillo, Texas, 13th Congressional District Project Recipient: Texas Department of Transportation Recipient’s Address: 125 East 11th Street, Austin Texas 78701 Requested Amount: $5,000,000 Purpose of Project: This funding will be used for the SL 335 - Widen Non-Freeway (TxDOT Id: 2635-04-031). Loop 335 is a priority of the City of Amarillo and the Amarillo Metro Police Office. This project will upgrade the entire loop to a controlled-access roadway consisting of main lanes, ramps, one-way frontage roads with bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, and four multi-level interchanges. Project Name: Cross Bar Access Road Construction. Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, 13th Congressional District Project Recipient: Friends of Cross Bar SRMA Inc Recipient’s Address: P.O. Box 31241, Amarillo, Texas 79120 Requested Amount: $4,100,000 Purpose of Project: The funding for this project would be used to enhance access, with priority on building a road that will provide direct public access to a currently untapped recreational area: BLM-managed Cross Bar SRMA. The only way the public can currently access the Cross Bar for recreation is by crossing private land or traversing potentially dangerous conditions along the south bank of the Canadian River. Opening the Cross Bar will increase outdoor recreation opportunities for Texas Panhandle residents and increase tourism to the region with its easy location off U.S. Highway 287. |