Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) voted to pass the first Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package. The bill, which funds six of the 12 appropriations bills, passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 339 to 85. In addition to securing critical wins to help American families, it includes over $14 million for community projects selected by Congressman Himes to benefit the Fourth District.
“I’m excited to see several key priorities for my district make it into this funding bill,” said Rep. Himes. “I fought hard to secure funding for projects that will enhance our community’s safety, vibrancy, and health, from improving traffic conditions on our busy roadways to expanding co-curricular resources for our youngest students. These investments will make Southwest Connecticut an even better place to start businesses, grow families, and age with dignity, and I’m looking forward to seeing President Biden sign this legislation into law.”
Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District will receive nearly $14.1 million for 15 community projects supported by Congressman Himes. These include:
- $2,000,000 for the City of Stamford to keep students safe and reduce dependence on automobiles by constructing pedestrian infrastructure near elementary, middle, and high schools with no existing sidewalks;
- $1,666,279 for the City of Bridgeport to install ADA-compliant ramps, replace and widen sidewalks, and upgrade lighting in Downtown Bridgeport to make the area safer, more pedestrian-friendly, and more accessible;
- $963,000 for the Town of Weston to replace the antiquated Public Safety Land Mobile Radio system on which public safety personnel rely to communicate efficiently;
- $963,000 for the City of Bridgeport to establish a Regional Forensic Technology Laboratory that will harness specialized technologies and software to reduce violent criminal activities;
- $959,752 for the City of Norwalk Department of Public Works to install a new storm drainage system designed to withstand a 25-year storm event and improve flooding resilience for 158 properties near Lockwood Lane and Heather Lane in Norwalk;
- $959,752 for the First Taxing District Water Department of the City of Norwalk to restore supplemental drinking water and treat the Kellogg-Deering Well Field, a 10-acre municipal site that provides about 50 percent of Norwalk’s public drinking water supply;
- $959,752 for the City of Stamford to increase capacity for stormwater flow in underserved neighborhoods by enlarging pipes and improving catch basins and conveyance systems in accordance with a citywide drainage assessment;
- $950,000 for the Mutual Housing Association of Southwestern Connecticut to purchase the land on which a first-of-its-kind Senior Affordable Housing Development will be built in Monroe, including designated units for residents aged 62 and older earning less than 30% of area median income;
- $950,000 for Alliance for Community Empowerment to improve the air quality and energy efficiency at the organization's headquarters, which doubles as a home for Head Start and Early Head Start programs that provide care to over 200 children;
- $875,000 for the Norwalk Housing Authority to demolish 54 obsolescent housing units at the Meadow Gardens Community Center in South Norwalk, allowing for their replacement with new, affordable units to which original tenants can return;
- $850,000 for the Town of Fairfield to design and construct an alternative roundabout to alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety conditions at the Post Road Circle, one of Fairfield’s busiest intersections and a major thoroughfare for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists;
- $500,000 for Career Resources, Inc. to subsidize the transformation of a former retail space into the Bridge on Main, a collaborative resource center to aid formerly incarcerated residents as they reintegrate back into society;
- $500,000 for the Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County to build a new Early Childhood Education & Innovation Center to replace two existing preschools scheduled for demolition that currently serve 240 low- and moderate-income children and families;
- $500,000 for the Stamford Boys & Girls Club Yerwood Center to install a critical security system and support other long-needed repairs, refurbishment, and upgrades to the Clubhouse, which serves children in kindergarten through third grade;
- $500,000 for the Greenwich Boys & Girls Club to fund urgently-needed renovations to BGCG’s Clubhouse, built in the 1930s, including an overhaul of its electrical systems to comply with modern safety standards and improve sustainability and energy efficiency.
The minibus also contains a series of provisions that will benefit Connecticut’s families, infrastructure, and environment. These include:
- $7.03 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the fully funded level requested by President Biden, to help hardworking parents feed their children;
- $2.4 billion for Amtrak, including $1.1 billion for Northeast Corridor Grants, to enhance the rail and transit systems on which many of us rely to commute to and from work and visit family in other states;
- Over $680 million to restore and preserve nationally significant bodies of water like the Long Island Sound, Connecticut's most vibrant natural resource.
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Congressman Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District, which includes the communities of Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stamford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.