F.Y. 2002 VA-HUD Appropriations Bill Approved by Committee

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee today approved legislation to fund the departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for fiscal year 2002.

The measure contains a variety of new and existing projects in California, including over $7.75 million requested by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for several important California projects.

"I am pleased that the committee has funded a variety of projects, which will help improve economic development and quality of life throughout the State," Senator Feinstein said.

Senator Feinstein, a member of the Senate Appropriations committee, announced funding levels for the following California projects in the legislation:

HUD/Economic Development Initiative

•$750,000 for West Angeles Plaza, a program to promote economic development in South Los Angeles.
•$500,000 for the Dinuba Regional Vocational Training Facility, a regional training facility that retrains displaced and inadequately prepared workers.
•$750,000 for road and sewer and water improvements in the Ravenswood Industrial Area in East Palo Alto.
•$250,000 for youth programs at Culver Center Theater, one of the nation's largest and most active theater companies with an annual audience of nearly 750,000.
•$250,000 for a multiple use pocket park in the Crown Heights Neighborhood in Oceanside.
•$250,000 a project in to build a center in the Martin Luther King Park in Oakland dedicated to teaching, non-violence and environmental education.

State and Tribal Assistance Grants

•$500,000 for the Santa Rosa Geysers Recharge Project , a project to extend the productive life of the Santa Rosa Geysers.
•$500,000 for a project to develop a non-motorized trailway between a new downtown revitalization project with the 238-acre Los Banos Industrial Park.
•$500,000 for the Oxnard Plain Groundwater Recharge Project.
•$500,000 for the Compton Sewer Infrastructure Rehabilitation Initiative.
•$500,000 for the Sacramento Combined Sewer System Improvement and Rehabilitation Project.
•$250,000 for the design and construction of the Placer County Subregional Wastewater Treatment and Water Reclamation Facility.
•$250,000 for Clear Lake Basin 2000 a project which uses reclaimed water to generate electricity and helps restore the Clear Lake watershed.

EPA Programs and Management

•$500,000 for Diesel Emissions Reduction in Gateways Cities.
•$500,000 for the Central California Ozone Study, which focuses on how much ozone and ozone forming pollutants are removed from ambient air by plants and soil surfaces.

NASA

•$1 million for the Chabot Observatory and Science Center, a state-of-the-art center for teaching science and technology.

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