Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) released the following statement announcing that nine Community Project requests totaling more than $20.6 million were included in the draft fiscal year 2022 federal agency funding bills. Once the bills have been approved by the Committee, the bills will advance to the floor for a vote by the full U.S. House of Representatives. 

“I’m proud that so many of our community’s priorities were included in this first round of the appropriations process,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “These meaningful investments in our community cover an array of priorities including maintaining the continued health of our water quality and waterways, broadening coursework, programs, and trainings at our higher education institutions, and bringing justice to survivors of sexual assault in Ventura County.  

“Our work is only now beginning and as these projects make it through the legislative process, I will continue to fight for Ventura County’s priorities.”

The FY2022 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies funding bill includes:

  • $8,000,000 for maintenance dredging of the Channel Islands Harbor to meet the needs of the County, Naval Base Ventura County, the Port of Hueneme and the City of Port Hueneme to protect downcoast Federal and municipal infrastructure and operations. 
  • $5,518,000 for maintenance dredging of the Ventura Harbor. The dredging is required annually to ensure adequate navigational depths for Ventura Harbor safety, commerce and operations. 
  • $900,000 to address flood risks along the Santa Paula Creek.

The FY2022 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill includes:

  • $2,840,000 for the City of San Buenaventura State Water Interconnection Project, which consists of a seven-mile pipeline that will enable the delivery of reliable water supply that will improve water quality, protect against natural disasters and other emergencies, and provide a resilient water supply for the region. 
  • $1,500,000 for the City of Thousand Oaks Water Reuse Project to design and construct a treatment system and groundwater wellhead improvements to supply potable water to public facilities and other water customers in the city. 
  • $500,000 for the City of Oxnard Water Transmission Line to address the potential seismically-caused failure of the existing pipe that is the only transmission line of State Water Project water to the region.

The FY2022 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill includes:

  • $950,000 to be used by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Forensic Services Bureau, Major Crimes Unit, and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office to expand its joint specialized unit that is dedicated to the investigation, laboratory analysis, and prosecution of backlogged violent and sexual assault cases that hold the promise of being solved through DNA technology. 

The FY2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill includes:

  • $250,000 for the development of Indigenous Studies at California State University Channel Islands, including new curriculum covering indigenous history, culture, arts, language, and natural resources, hiring and training faculty, outreach to community partners and piloting courses.
  • $225,000 for the Moorpark College Work-Based Learning Project, which would support 150 students with worked-based learning opportunities and provide them with real-world insights into potential careers. 

The total funding amount included in these requests amounts to $20,683,000.

Background

Earlier this year, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Appropriations, announced that the House Committee on Appropriations would be accepting Community Project Funding (CPF) requests from Members of Congress. This was in addition to the standard programmatic and language-based requests. Each Member was limited to no more than 10 Community Project Funding requests across all subcommittees for Fiscal Year 2022 and there was no guarantee that all requested projects would be funded. The FY2022 CPF process has a limited scope with combined earmarks capped at 1% of all discretionary spending. 

More information on the CPF requests submitted by Congresswoman Brownley to the House Appropriations Committee can be found here

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