Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District, a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced securing $9,904,700 dollars for local funding projects on behalf of Southern Nevada. All seven of Congresswoman Titus’ Community Funding Project requests received final passage as part of consideration of nine of the annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022.
Rep. Dina Titus Secures $9.9 Million for Projects Benefiting Southern Nevada
Seven community funding projects for Las Vegas receive final passage through the House along with policy proposals advocated by Congresswoman Titus
Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District, a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced securing $9,904,700 dollars for local funding projects on behalf of Southern Nevada. All seven of Congresswoman Titus’ Community Funding Project requests received final passage as part of consideration of nine of the annual appropriations bills to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022.
“I’m pleased to announce that we secured funding for all seven of the projects I requested, a total of $9.9 million in investments. These projects will bring critical funding to Southern Nevada to create jobs, expand regional transportation, boost STEM education for young women and minority communities, support employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and fund a new Vegas Strong Resiliency Center to support victims of the October 1 shooting,” said Congresswoman Titus. “I’m also proud to have successfully passed important measures which will protect disability rights and LGBTQ communities at home and abroad, support animal welfare, increase job training and education funding in District 1, and keep nuclear waste out of Nevada. These new investments and projects will go a long way towards helping Southern Nevada’s economic recovery and I look forward to working with the Senate to deliver them to President Biden’s desk.”
Projects Championed by Congresswoman Titus include:
$3,000,000 for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, located at 725 E Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89104, for the planning and development of the new Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. This project will include design and construction of a new facility to expand the programs and services of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center supporting the victims of the 1 October shooting and other victims of crime. This project will support redevelopment of a commercial space located in the City of Las Vegas’s Redevelopment Zone 1.
$525,000 for Opportunity Village to support their network-wide 14(c) Transition Pilot Program. Opportunity Village is a local, not-for-profit organization supporting employment opportunities for nearly 2,000 individuals with intellectual and related disabilities. This pilot program will assist with the transition of these individuals from under the 14(c) program and provide them the structure and resources to gain and maintain employment opportunities.
$142,500 for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for the Bike Share Expansion project. This project will add two additional bike stations to the current network in downtown Las Vegas and approximately 60 e-assist bikes to the fleet. The bike share program has been hugely popular, and use has increased to historic levels even during the pandemic. The e-assist bikes have nearly triple the use of the traditional bikes.
$437,200 for the City of Las Vegas for the Small Business Support Center. The Support Center will help existing businesses and entrepreneurs navigate business planning, financial planning, legal needs, and more. The funds will help provide technology, mentoring, and assistance with code enforcement and business regulations to remove barriers to success. The Center is part of the City of Las Vegas’s Historic Urban Neighborhood Design Redevelopment plan to revitalize the Westside neighborhood and surrounding areas.
$2,000,000 for the National Atomic Testing Museum in support of their Advancing STEM Education in Southern Nevada project. The funds will support new interactive exhibits and programming focused on students, especially women and minorities, to inspire them to enter STEM fields. The National Atomic Testing Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and welcomes visitors from across the Las Vegas Valley and around the world to educate about the past, present, and future of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Programs and the National Security Programs being executed at the Nevada National Security Site.
$3,000,000 for the City of Las Vegas for the Historic Westside Complete Streets Project. This project includes rehabilitation of the pavement, new bicycle lanes, widened sidewalks, street trees, median island landscaping, enhanced, historical street lighting, and other pedestrian-focused upgrades. The project will focus on improvements on Washington Avenue, H Street, and Bonanza Drive in the historic Westside neighborhood of the City of Las Vegas. These improvements are part of the City of Las Vegas’s Historic Urban Neighborhood Design Redevelopment plan to revitalize the Westside neighborhood and surrounding areas.
$800,000 for Workforce Connections. This funding will support Workforce Connection’s workforce development efforts across Southern Nevada including its highly subscribed Layoff Aversion and Employ NV Business Hub programs. Workforce Connections is Southern Nevada’s Local Workforce Development Board covering Clark, Nye, Lincoln, and Esmerelda Counties. The Las Vegas Metro Area remains among the highest unemployment rates of any major metropolitan area due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Policy Wins Championed by Congresswoman Titus include:
Blocking Yucca Mountain: Energy and Water appropriations contains no funding to advance the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository. Energy and Water also includes nearly $200 million dollars in grants for western states and communities to address drought and invest in water conservation and recycling projects.
Investing in Local Transit Projects: $2.5 billion dollars to fund the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant Program, which includes the Maryland Parkway High Capacity Transit Project.
Defending Reproductive Freedom: Removes the “Hyde Amendment” that prohibits reproductive freedom and personal health care decision making for low-income women on Medicaid.
Expanding Job Training Opportunities: Provides $3.1 billion dollars for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs for disadvantaged individuals, including $8.3 million dollars available to 24,000 youth and 185,000 adults living in District 1.
Investing in Public Education: Includes $36 billion dollars in funding for Title I education funding for children living in poverty, receiving monthly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or in foster care or delinquency. This includes nearly $145 million dollars for Clark County School District serving approximately 127,000 children living in District 1.
Providing for Veterans’ Health Care: Invests $98.5 billion for veterans’ healthcare, which is an 8 percent increase over funding for Fiscal Year 2021. This increase would provide an additional $54.7 million for the approximately 16,000 veterans in District 1 receiving healthcare through the VA. These additional funds will enable the VHA to improve access to health care in key areas like women’s health, mental health, and opioid treatment; provide more veterans with home and community-based services; recruit and retain nurses and physicians; and support crucial medical research that improves veterans’ health and quality of life.
Protecting Animal Welfare: Maintains prohibitions on slaughtering wild horses and burros under the care of the federal government. Includes $11 million dollars in dedicated funding for humane birth control methods for wild horses and burros, led by Rep. Titus, as well as directing the Bureau of Land Management to investigate rehoming of wild horses and burros in designated herd management areas to address overcrowding concerns. Prohibits the Veterans Administration from testing on dogs and cats. Includes an amendment co-led by Rep. Titus to ensure rescue dogs are quickly processed and cleared for entry into the U.S.
Protecting International Human Rights: Secured funding for the Office of the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State and$19 million to expand disability rights programming. Advocated for $15 million for the Global Equality Fund administered by the Department of State to provide emergency assistance to human rights defenders and human rights programming in support of grassroots LGBTQI+ organizations around the world.
Promoting Extreme Weather Research Partnerships: Advocated for language in the State and Foreign Operations bill encouraging development of programming and partnerships on climate forecasting and early warning and response systems, including in Mongolia and other areas that lack climate forecasting tools. Nevada’s Desert Research Institute has been engaged in research and partnerships related to extreme weather events in Mongolia.
