House OKs $37M for Projects in Southern AZ

By Josh Brodesky, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Dec. 19–Southern Arizona could be receiving more than $37 million in federal funding next year for projects varying from drainage mitigation to shrimp harvesting to monitoring the flow of the San Pedro River.

The federal earmarks were passed in the U.S. House late Monday as part of an omnibus bill that still must work its way through the Senate.

U.S Rep. Raul Grijalva said he was happy with the bill, which did not include funding for the war in Iraq, but would have liked to have seen more domestic funding, particularly for adult education and health care.

Grijalva, a third-term Democrat who represents much of Southwestern Arizona and Tucson’s West Side, was one of the first members of Congress to disclose his earmarks this summer.

“We approached this whole thing aggressively with a lot of disclosure,” he said.

A number of the earmarks were shared with fellow U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a first-term Democrat who represents Southeastern Arizona and Tucson’s North and East sides.

Some of the larger projects the two shared included funds for the city of Tucson’s Arroyo Chico drainage project, the expansion of University Medical Center’s trauma center and replacement buses for the city — buses that would run on clean-burning fuels.

But Grijalva also was able to land more than $3 million for a shrimp-farming program at the University of Arizona, nearly $8 million to eradicate the pink bollworm, which threatens cotton; and more than $5 million for the Morris K. Udall Foundation, much of which will be used to settle environmental disputes.

Still, he had asked for earmarks for 61 projects totaling $178 million and was disappointed that many of those weren’t funded, particularly border-security funds for the Tohono O’odham Nation, funding that he said he will continue to push.

“Eventually (the Department of) Homeland Security is going to have to deal with the fact that the Tohono O’odham Nation has paid for what should be a function of Homeland Security and they need to keep their costs covered,” he said.

He also said he expects the Senate to add funding for the war in Iraq to the bill, a move that he opposes.

“While many of the funding levels in the bill are not at the level that we had hoped for, it is still a step in the right direction,” said Grijalva “It is my hope that the Senate continues the path of the current bill and does not add the rumored blank check for the president’s Iraq war.”

Meanwhile, Giffords was also able to land funds for 21 projects. Four of those were funded several weeks ago in Department of Defense legislation.

She had originally asked for funding for 42 projects totaling nearly $327 million, and she said she was happy to see half of the projects were recognized.

Of the non-military projects, nearly $1 million would support solar-technology research at the UA’s Mirror Lab. There were also funds for health centers in Marana and the Bisbee area as well as nearly $1 million that would go to the Upper San Pedro Partnership for monitoring of the river’s flow.

“We have to know how much water we’re losing, and in order to do that, we need the monitoring mechanism.”

She said the House legislation would also require the Department of Homeland Security to meet with local governments and agencies before pursuing projects in and around the San Pedro River.

Funding for some smaller projects for both representatives included the following: The development of an online portal where medical information would be available to doctors in English and Spanish; a youth cultural center in Tucson’s Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood, north of Downtown; a UA project to reintegrate disabled veterans returning from Iraq who want to return to school; and assistance to law-enforcement agencies working to curb the use of methamphetamine.

Find more political coverage at azstarnet.com/politics

Below is a list of the 10 largest earmarks for Southern Arizona passed Monday night by the U.S. House of Representatives. The funding still must be approved by the U.S. Senate.

–$7.8 million for the city of Tucson’s Arroyo Chico drainage project.

–$7.8 million for the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service for the elimination of pink bollworm, which threatens cotton.

–$5.75 million to the Morris K. Udall Foundation to assist with resolving environmental disputes as well as for a trust fund.

–$3.1 million for the University of Arizona’s shrimp-farming program.

–$2 million for construction of a fire station at the Silverbell Army Heliport in Marana.

–$1.47 million to acquire a right of way for the Twin Peaks Interchange in Marana.

–$984,000 for solar technology at the University of Arizona’s Mirror Lab.

–$980,000 for the city of Tucson to purchase buses powered by clean-burning fuel.

–$980,000 for highway improvements on the Tohono O’odham Nation.

–$923,328 to the Upper San Pedro Partnership for continued monitoring of the river’s flow.

–Contact reporter Josh Brodesky at 807-7789 or jbrodesky@azstarnet.com.

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