Appropriations

Energy and Water appropriations bill (Passed in House of Representatives)

• $250,000 Colonias for Lower Rio Grande Basin to provide technical and design assistance for rural communities along the US-Mexico border


• $300,000 for feasibility study of Gulf Intercoastal Waterway realignment in the vicinity of Port Isabel,Texas


• $500,000 for planning of the Raymondville Drain project


• $300,000 to study Resacas in Brownsville, Texas for flood control and restoration


• $200,000 for aquatic plant control (hydrilla) programs at high priority sites in Texas


• $3 million Lower Rio Grande Water Resources to for conservation and improvement authorized by Public laws 106-576 and 107-351

Omnibus (bundled spending when Congress failed to pass independent spending bills)

• $500,000 for ADART phase IV implementation for Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, RTA (ADART is the dial-a-ride transit program)
  
• $200,000 for Port Aransas Marine Science Institute
  
• $3.6 million for the Port of Corpus Christi for vessel tracking
  
• $40 million for the Southwest Border Prosecutor Initiative to reimburse local governments for the costs of prosecuting federal criminal cases declined by U.S. attorneys (this has been an ongoing priority of the House Border Caucus on behalf of local attorneys for border counties burdened by the cost of prosecuting federal prisoners)
  
• $1.225 million for Corpus Christi RTA for Job Access/Reverse Commute to assist senior citizens
  
• $500,000 for Corpus Christi RTA buses and bus facilities
  
• $700,000 for the Corpus Christi International Airport for terminal air traffic control facilities replacement
  
• $350,000 for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, for the Early Childhood Development Center
  
• $4 million for Packery Channel in Corpus Christi
  
• $5.669 million for the operations and maintenance for the Port of Corpus Christi
  
• $500,000 for the Corpus Christi Ferry Terminal
  
• $150,000 for Communities in Schools-Cameron County, Inc., in Harlingen for educational services for at-risk youth
  
• “Mitigation credits” for the Port of Brownsville, which will allow them to flood the Bahia Grande, finally offering relief to the citizens of the area who are adversely affected by the dry, blowing sand in the Port Isabel and surrounding area
  
• $1.5 million for the Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resource Conservation programs
  
• $2.143 million for the operations and maintenance for the Port of Brownsville
  
• $200,000 for the Harlingen Railroad Relocation Project
  
• $250 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), the grant program that reimburses local jails for the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants captured by federal agents (this amount is less than half of money needed to reimburse local communities)
  
• $2 million for the Brownsville Railroad Relocation Project, Port of Brownsville
  
• $100,000 for Brownsville Urban System for buses and bus facilities
  
• $875,000 to construct the West rail project, including a new international railroad bridge crossing over the Rio Grande (this is re-programmed money)
  
• $300,000 for the Brownsville Community Health Center
  
• $225,000 to construct a Boys and Girls Club in Santa Rosa
  
• $100,000 for Gulf Intracoastal Canal (vicinity of Port Isabel, to study canal realignment)
  
• $400,000 for the Raymondville Drain project
  
• $200,000 to study water conservation through Resaca development in Brownsville
  
• $2 million for the Weir Dam in Brownsville
  
• $57 million for new Border Patrol agents (for the entire border area, it’s insufficient for border needs)
  
• $25.5 million for Immigration Inspectors (for the entire border area, it’s insufficient for border needs)
  
• $25 million for water and waste disposal systems to benefit the colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border (for the entire border area)
  
• $40 million for the Southwest Border Prosecutor Initiative to reimburse local governments for the costs of prosecuting federal criminal cases declined by U.S. attorneys (this has been an ongoing priority of the House Border Caucus on behalf of local attorneys for border counties burdened by the cost of prosecuting federal prisoners, and is for the entire border area)
  
• $550,000 for the Valley International Airport in Harlingen
  

Transportation appropriations bill: (Passed in House of Representatives)

• $800,000 for bus and bus facilities for the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority,
  
• $375,000 for Job Access and Reverse Commute for the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, and
  
• $500,000 for a passenger ferry for the Port of Corpus Christi.
  
• $500,000 to the Brownsville Urban System for the Northside Transfer Center
  

Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies appropriations bill: (Passed in House of Representatives)

• $2 million for Public Utilities of Brownsville (PUB) to construct Weir Dam
  
• $225,000 to the City of La Feria to construct a Boys and Girls Club.
  

Agricultural Appropriations

• $400,000 in funding for Kingsville, Texas, (for the National Wildlife Research Station)
  
• Provision prohibiting the FDA from enforcing the ban on re-importation of prescription drugs from other countries.
  

Energy and Water Appropriations

• $3 million for Packery Channel
  
• $800,000 for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel
  
• $7.945 million for operations and maintenance for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel
  
• $300,000 for Raymondville Drain (to reduce flood damage)
  
• $250,000 for Colonias (to develop a wastewater system and water distribution system)
  
• $831,000 for activities for the GIWW near Port Isabel
  
• $250,000 for resacas in Brownsville
  
• $2.875 million for operations and maintenance for the Port of Brownsville
  
• $600,000 for a study at the Port of Brownsville
  

The Defense Appropriations bill included the following:

• $2.0 million for a Virtual Clinic Learning Lab (VCLL) for Nursing and Other Health Professions to augment Texas A&M-Corpus Christi University’s current eLine nursing education program to develop an online, virtual clinical learning laboratory;
  
• $12.75 million for the Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program to continue efforts to partner with industry in deploying the latest manufacturing technology to DOD depots;
  
• $2.5 million for a Partnership Simulation Laboratory for Health Professions Education for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi University’s clinical healthcare learning; and
  
• $1.7 million for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
  

The Military Construction Appropriations bill included the following:

• $3.9 million for phase 2 of the replacement of a jet fuel storage facility at Naval Air Station Kingsville; and
  
• $9.038 million to construct phase 1 of a controlled humidity storage facility for the Corpus Christi Army Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to preserve the long-term equipment of the Army Reserve.
  

Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations:

• Direct the administration to review and evaluate the value of the La Esperanza Home for Boys in Brownsville
  
• $325 million to reimburse states for costs of incarcerating undocumented immigrants along the SW border (including South Texas)
  
• $40,000,000 for State and local law enforcement agencies (including prosecutors, probation officers, courts, and detention facilities) along the southwest border for the handling and processing of drug and alien cases referred from Federal arrests (including South Texas)
  

Veterans Administration-Housing of Urban Development-Independent Agencies appropriations: (House-passed)

• $175,000, for the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority for sidewalk improvements in Corpus Christi
  
• $75,000, for Texas A&M-Kingsville for a facility expansion of a center for young children
  
• $1 million to continue construction of the Weir Dam