Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) released the following statement:
“Through this year’s appropriations cycle, I am proud to bring $19.2 million in Community Project Funding back to El Paso and our small towns to revitalize our community’s infrastructure, fight food insecurity, invest in research and innovation, support housing investments for our servicemembers, and improve quality of life for underserved areas by providing funds for waste and drinking water projects. Allocated across fifteen projects, this transformational money will make a tangible impact on El Pasoans from all walks of life.
“While I’m proud of what I was able to secure, I feel compelled to address my disappointment with the blatant partisan approach used by House Republicans to allocate funding. The appropriation process requires compromise and the ability to put the needs of many individual communities in the context of our nation’s wellbeing. This appropriations cycle, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle disproportionately prioritized funding their own projects while systemically underfunding projects in communities like my own - many of which received less than half of the requested funding. A mere two years ago, several House Republicans opposed the reinstatement of Community Project Funding (CPF) process and pledged not to issue any requests. This year, however, many of those same individuals had millions of dollars approved in to fund CPFs in their districts. Many of our communities rely on this process to fund critical projects that would otherwise go unfunded. I am proud to have fought for all of our selected recipients and the important projects they hope to bring to our community, and commit to ensuring these projects are retained in the final appropriation bills and enacted into law."
FY2024 Projects Submitted:
Project Name: Nuevo Hueco Tanks Ground Storage Water Tank
Recipient: Lower Valley Water District
Address: 1557 FM 1110, Clint, Texas 79836
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Amount Rewarded: $850,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the construction of a steel ground storage tank that will hold one-million gallons, a booster station, as well as approximately 8,000 linear feet of 16-inch ductile iron transmission lines to connect to existing transmission lines.
Project Name: Gateway West-Sparks Water Project
Recipient: Lower Valley Water District
Address: 1557 FM 1110, Clint, Texas 79836
Amount Requested: $1,700,000
Amount Rewarded: $500,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the installation of 9,019 linear feet of 12-inch PVC pipe, 42 linear feet of 8-inch PVC pipe, connecting new service lines and upgrading old service lines and replacing them with new lines, as well as installing fire hydrants.
Project Name: Town of Anthony Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP)
Recipient: Town of Anthony
Address: 1010 S. Main St, Anthony, TX, 79821
Amount Requested: $2,065,938.00
Amount Rewarded: $959,752
Project Description: The funding would be used for upgrades and expansion of the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in the town of Anthony.
Project Name: Arsenic Treatment Plant and Associated Raw & Treated Water Pipelines
Recipient: Town of Anthony
Address: 401 Wildcat Dr, Anthony, TX 79821
Amount Requested: $4,688,687.00
Amount Rewarded: $959,752
Project Description: The funding would be used for final design and construction of a 1.73 MGD Water Treatment Plan that will remove arsenic from the Town’s potable groundwater supply.
Project Name: Replacing Aging Emergency Generator and Adding Solar Capacity
Recipient: University Medical Center of El Paso
Address: 4815 Alameda Ave., El Paso, TX 79905
Amount Requested: $7,398,712.50
Amount Rewarded: $1,383,069
Project Description: The funding would be used to replace the University Medical Center's aging 2.5MW emergency generator and add power storage and solar capacity to the hospital.
Project Name: Aerospace Digital Engineering Research
Recipient: National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining
Address: 521 Texas Ave., El Paso, TX 79901
Amount Requested: 2,200,000
Amount Rewarded: $963,000
Project Description: The funding would be used to initiate a research project with El Paso manufacturers to develop pathways using cutting edge research and innovation to produce mission-critical and flight-qualified components and sub-assemblies through the state-of-the-art digital engineering.
Project Name: El Paso County, TX (Flood Warning Project)
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Address: 4101 Jefferson Plaza NE, New Mexico, Albuquerque 87109
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Amount Rewarded: $975,000
Project Description: The funding would be used to develop the El Paso Flood Warning System to alert residents, businesses, planners, and emergency response personnel about potential flooding in El Paso County before it occurs or as soon as possible after it begins.
Project Name: Collective Training Barracks (Planning and Design)
Recipient: Fort Bliss
Address: 1733 Pleasonton Road, USAG Fort Bliss, Texas 79906
Amount Requested: $7,200,000
Amount Rewarded: $7,200,000
Project Description: This funding would be used for the Planning and Design of Collective Training Barracks required to provide housing for the many transient soldiers from Army Active, Army National Guard, and the Army Reserve supported by Fort Bliss.
Project Name: El Pasoans Fighting Hunger West
Recipient: El Pasoans Fighting Hunger
Address: 9541 Plaza Circle, El Paso, TX 79927
Amount Requested: $6,500,000
Amount Rewarded: $800,000
Project Description: The funding would be used to construct a new permanent operations center in the westernmost part of El Paso County that is historically underserved and lacks access to stable food assistance resources.
Project Name: Rural Utility Service Vehicles (PW)
Recipient: County of El Paso
Address: 500 E. San Antonio Ave, El Paso, Texas 79901
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Amount Rewarded: $550,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the acquisition of new equipment, including four street box sweepers, five tandem dump trunks, five truck tractors, and four grappler bulk waste loader trucks will help facilitate the swift removal of illegally dumped waste and the cleaning of roadways.
Project Name: Rio Vista Rehabilitation
Recipient: City of Socorro
Address: 124 Horizon Blvd, Socorro, Texas 79927
Amount Requested: $8,400,000
Amount Rewarded: $1,050,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the rehabilitation of six (6) buildings at the historic Rio Vista Farm for reuse as a small business incubator, workforce and continuing education classrooms, and the community’s first-ever public library.
Project Name: Sun Metro Micro Transit
Recipient: City of El Paso
Address: 300 N. Campbell, El Paso, TX 79901
Amount Requested: $750,000
Amount Rewarded: $720,000
Project Description: The funding would be used to purchase a small fleet of electric micro-transit vehicles, charging infrastructure, and appurtenances.
Project Name: Terminal Bridge Reconstruction
Recipient: City of El Paso
Address: 300 N. Campbell, El Paso, TX 79901
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Amount Rewarded: $850,000
Project Description: The funding would be used to develop the Terminal Bridge Reconstruction Project (Project). The Project includes design and reconstruction of the Terminal Bridge, which serves as the primary exit from the El Paso International Airport.
Project Name: Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) Facility Acquisition and Expansion
Recipient: City of El Paso
Address: 300 N. Campbell, El Paso, TX 79901
Amount Requested: $2,500,000
Amount Rewarded: $500,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the acquisition of a new facility to house the Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) program.
Project Name: Police Department Technology Augmentation
Recipient: Town of Anthony
Address: 401 Wildcat Dr, Anthony, TX 79821
Amount Requested: $1,500,000
Amount Rewarded: $963,000
Project Description: The funding would be used for the acquisition stationary Outdoor, License plate recognition cameras in the areas identified as a high trafficking.
More information about the projects requested and funding received can be found
here.
