Appropriations bill includes funds for local entities
The Western News
An appropriations bill currently under consideration by Congress includes funding for the Libby School District, Center for Asbestos Related Disease and the City of Troy.
The new funding bill features $381,000 for the Libby School District to be used for program expenses and $190,000 for CARD to help fund its health-care endeavors.
“These dollars are great news for Libby,” Sen. Max Baucus said through a press release. “This is about making sure our kids are safe in their schools, and about making sure the folks in Libby get the medical care they need and deserve.”
Baucus said the school funding will go toward program expenses. The district is saving money to build a new elementary school after asbestos was found in the walls of Asa Wood Elementary.
CARD, who just last week was visited by Rep. Denny Rehberg, provides care for 2,300 patients that are affected by asbestos-related disease or have been diagnosed with the complex Libby Amphibole Asbestos Disease.
“This is important funding for folks in Libby,” Sen. Jon Tester said via news release. “Resources for health care and education will go a long way in Libby, and I will always use my seat on the Appropriations Committee to do what’s right for people who live there.”
In addition to providing medical care, CARD conducts research and works with governmental agencies in an effort to find effective treatments for asbestos-related diseases.
A portion of the bill under Energy and Water Development proposes $4.785 million for various projects, including money for Phase II of Troy’s water project.
“Water is always worth fighting for,” said Tester, a new member of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal discretionary spending. “Access to safe, clean water allows thousands of families to live and to do business across rural Montana. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will work hard to get Montana’s water systems the resources they need for the 21st century.”
The exact amount that Troy’s grant would be determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project is eligible for additional funding through the recently-enacted “Jobs Bill.”
Baucus and Tester said they are working closely with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers to secure the additional funding, which will be announced later this year.
The Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill will combine several spending bills that were not completed last year.
If it becomes law, it will bring a total of more than $77 million to Montana for projects ranging from highway construction to wastewater treatment to housing assistance.
The bill passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, and will be voted on in the Senate early next week.