Publication: Sierra County Sentinel Final Edition December 28,2007
Page: 9
New Hospital Project Gets ome Federal Funds
BY Sentinel Staff Report
US Senator Pete Domenici, a long time member of the senate Appropriations Committee, confirmed December 26 that President Bush has signed into law the FY2008 omnibus spending package that will fund scores of programs and projects in southern New Mexico. At Domenici's request, the following project received Department of Health and Human Services funding; Sierra Vista Hospital, Truth or Consequences-$731,000 for construction, renovation and equipment.
Domenici is a ranking member of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommitte. In the FY2008 appropriations process, Domenici was also successful in securing federal funds for scores of programs and projects throughout New Mexico. The following are excerpts of funding for southern New Mexico that is included in the massive omnibus appropriations bill that is now law:
·Bureau of Reclamation (All figures reflect 1.6 percent across the board reduction): $4,444,000 for Rio Grande Project; $138,000 Southern NM-West Texas Investigations Program; $246,000 for Rio Grande Basin (NM, CO, TX)
·Army Corps of Engineers Construction - $3,932,000 for Alamogordo Flood Control
·Continuing Authorities Program-For CAP projects, the Conference Report some projects are listed with specific dollar earmarks while others are listed for potential CAP funding. The following New Mexico projects are included: $492,000 for Hatch, NM flood control project
·Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus and Bus Facilities-The Bill provides funding for bus and bus facilities assistance to States and local communities. At Domenici's request, funding was included $1.248 million for New Mexico statewide buses and bus facilities.
·Department of Justice-At Domenici's request-the bill contains funding for the following New Mexico projects for equipment to combat methamphetamine; $1.01 million for New Mexico Rural Meth Enforcement Initiative;
·National Science Foundation-$6.65 billion total, including $52.74 million for the National Radio Astronomy Observatories (NRAO0, including the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array in Socorro. This funding requested by Domenici, is the same as the Presidents' request for NRAO. The bill contains funding to continue the development and construction of the Atacama Millimeter Array (ALMA) astronomy facility in Chile. The VLA a Socorro is involved in this new project.
·Noxious Weeds Research-$304,357 through Agriculture Research Service (ARS) cooperative research on broom snakeweed and locoweed at the Jornada Range.
·Arid Lands Research-$361,286 through ARS for expanded research in rangeland resource management, irrigated farming technology, and environmental horticulture at the Jornada Range.
·Jornada Jornada Experimental Range Research Station-$387,976 through ARS for the operations of the Jornada Experimental Range Research Station.