Over $13 million will be used to build parks, reduce pollution, and build new youth community centers in Los Angeles County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 July 2022
Contact: Kevin McGuire, 202-538-2386 (mobile)
WASHINGTON, D.C– Yesterday, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) voted to pass the first six bills in the government funding legislation for Fiscal Year 2023, which includes over $13 million in investments for California’s 44th District. The funding will help create new green spaces and parks, expand vocational training, and combat climate change by investing in green energy alternatives.
“I’m grateful to the Appropriations Committee for including my priorities in this year’s spending bill,” said Rep. Barragán. “These projects will help reduce pollution by creating more green spaces and investing in green energy, create new education opportunities for children, and fund services for those experiencing homelessness. I urge the Senate to keep these community projects in the bill as they negotiate with the House on the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.”
Below is a list of funding for projects Barragán submitted to the Appropriators that were included in the first three Appropriations bills that passed yesterday. The Senate still needs to pass their own Appropriations bills and the differences in the bills need to be negotiated, agreed to, and passed before the funds would be available.
Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
New Cheryl Green Club Building for Harbor Gateway – Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor ($4,000,000)
This funding will enable the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor to purchase land and build a permanent clubhouse to replace a temporary site of two modular portals that currently sit on contaminated soil. This will provide a modern, safe facility to serve youth in the low-income, gang violence-impacted community of Harbor Gateway, where students will have access to academic mentoring, recreational activities, and supportive services.
Veterans Park and Sports Complex Energy Resiliency Solar Panel & Battery Storage Installation – City of Carson ($2,000,000)
This funding would allow the City of Carson to enhance energy efficiency and reliability at Veterans Park by installing carport and roof-mounted solar panels, as well as a battery energy storage system. Veterans Park is an essential facility which provides a wealth of recreational opportunities and public meeting space, while also serving as a regional cooling center during extreme heat events. In the event of a grid outage, this project will enable the facility to remain open and operational.
San Pedro Family Shelter Modernization – Harbor Interfaith Services ($375,000)
Harbor Interfaith’s Family Shelter provides shelter to 21 families experiencing homelessness. Families are enrolled in the shelter for 90 days while staff work with them to find permanent housing solutions and address their other immediate needs. 90% of the families at this shelter are single mothers with children. The funding requested will allow Harbor Interfaith to modernize the facility with new exterior windows, refrigerators, and over, paint the exterior of the shelter, and temporarily relocate the families during the capital improvements.
Public Charging Infrastructure for Battery Electric Drayage Trucks – Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator ($1,500,000)
This funding would provide for the installation of public chargers capable of fully charging a battery electric drayage truck in less than 30 minutes. Goods movement is the largest source of air pollution in the Los Angeles region, so it is of critical importance to families living adjacent to the heavily trafficked corridors and facilities that we replace the thousands of diesel drayage trucks with zero emissions trucks. The presence of public chargers near the Port of Los Angeles will address drayage fleet operators’ need for charging infrastructure away from home facilities, which will further encourage the transition to zero-emission trucks.
North Long Beach 51st Street Greenbelt on the Los Angeles River – City of Long Beach ($2,000,000)
This funding would transform nearly one acre of undeveloped land in a dense, park-poor, community of color into a thriving Greenbelt for multigenerational users that improves water and air quality, increases tree canopy and new park acreage, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The project will add a natural walking path and bioswales with native, drought-tolerant plants.
United Wilmington Youth Foundation Career Development Center – United Harbor Area Association ($4,000,000)
This funding would provide for the building of a new community center for vocational training, STEM research, and evaluation of green technologies. To simultaneously combat toxic air pollution and unemployment, the center will focus on workforce development for local residents to gain the skills needed to support emerging, clean energy technologies utilized in and around the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
###Nanette Diaz Barragán is proud to represent California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington. She serves as chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Border Security, and on the House Energy and Commerce Health, Energy, and Environment & Climate Change Subcommittees