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Appropriations and Legislative Disclosures

In accordance with House Rules, and to promote oversight, transparency and accountability, this web page contains the disclosure materials relating to projects I have submitted on behalf of a local sponsor to either the House Committee on Appropriations or any other House Committees requiring disclosures.

As part of the transparency process, the projects submitted by Congressman Gonzalez in calendar year 2021 (FY2022 Requests) and calendar year 2022 (FY2023 Requests) can be found here:
FY 2022 Disclosures Archive
FY 2023 Disclosures Archive

Community Project Funding Requests

Congressman Vicente Gonzalez has submitted funding requests for important community projects in the 34th District of Texas to the House Appropriations Committee.

 

Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2024 – although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the 2021 reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.

 

In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez has certified that he, his spouse, and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested.

 

Projects are listed in alphabetical order by subcommittee.

 

[Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies]

 

Project Name: South Texas A&M Health Hub

Amount Requested: $3,000,000

Recipient: Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Blvd., Kingsville, Texas 78363

Explanation: This project will help create the "South Texas A&M University Health Hub" in coordination with the Community Action Corporation of South Texas (CACOST), a Federally Qualified Health Clinic, and the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center's Office of Clinical Initiatives. The Hub will serve rural South Texas through teaching, research and patient care (in-person and through telemedicine). This funding request includes a portion of overall construction costs for a facility to provide primary care and mental health services for the Texas A&M-Kingsville community (students, faculty, staff, and families) and throughout rural South Texas.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

[Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Science, and Related Agencies]

 

Project Name: Brownsville Police Department Storage Project

Amount Requested: $273,434

Recipient: City of Brownsville Police Department, 600 East Jackson, Brownsville, Texas 78520

Explanation: This project will enable the Brownsville Police Department to increase its capability to store digital information gathered during investigations that will ultimately be used to prosecute cases.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Cameron County Operation Border Shield

Amount Requested: $1,500,000

Recipient: Cameron County Sheriff's Office, 7300 Old Alice Rd., Olmito, Texas 78575

Explanation: This project will provide schools, in coordination with Cameron County Sheriff's office, the access to enhanced surveillance systems, remote access control, and license plate readers (LPRs) to deter crime and keep our schools safe.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Public Safety Communication Equipment Upgrades

Amount Requested: $647,753

Recipient: City of Harlingen, 118 East Tyler Avenue, Harlingen, Texas 78550

Explanation: This project will upgrade the Harlingen Police Department Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and will significantly improve public safety communications within our jurisdiction and support the Rio Grande Valley Communications Group interoperability. The Harlingen Police Department seeks to proactively replace public safety related communications equipment and systems to ensure reliability and optimal performance and maintain compliance with Federal Communications Commission rules and guidelines.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: UTRGV Coastal Ecosystems

Amount Requested: $562,000

Recipient: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, One West University Blvd., Brownsville, Texas 78520

Explanation: This project will educate the Rio Grande Valley community and visitors in the ecological and economic importance of coastal wetlands and provide research opportunities in the areas of coastal conservation, restoration and resiliency, water quality, and habitat enhancement.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

[Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies]

 

Project Name: The Resacas, in the Vicinity of the City of Brownsville, Texas

Amount Requested: $1,753,570

Recipient: Brownsville Public Utilities Board, 1425 Robinhood Dr., Brownsville, Texas 78521

Explanation: This project will restore the exceedingly rare resacas ecosystem that has been damaged due to the past 150 years of expansion of agriculture and urbanization. Resacas in Brownsville have been silting in and losing their natural function. Resacas are unique ecosystems that provide multiple benefits to the community. Resaca restoration benefits include increased stormwater capacity, increased water storage capacity, improved water quality, recreational opportunities, economic development, and environmental benefits.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

[Homeland Security]

 

Project Name: 5th and 7th Streets Storm Sewer Drainage Improvements

Amount Requested: $3,962,066

Recipient: City of Harlingen, 118 East Tyler Avenue, Harlingen, Texas 78550

Explanation: The proposed project will replace 1.22 miles of 12 to 24-inch reinforced concrete pipes, manholes, and inlets, mostly along segments of 5th Street and 7th Street in Harlingen, Texas, to increase the conveyance capacity of Storm Sewer System #021. The project includes Harlingen's Downtown area and major thoroughfares known to be flood-prone subsections with a high propensity to accumulate runoff even during minor storm events.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

[Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies]

 

Project Name: Ground Storage Tank and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System

Amount Requested: $2,295,124

Recipient: City of San Benito, 401 N. Sam Houston Blvd., San Benito, Texas 78586

Explanation: This project will replace an existing storage tank that is a critical element of the utility system but is structurally unsafe, presents a public hazard, and is economically infeasible to repair because it has exceeded its expected service life. The replacement storage tank will be located at the Water Treatment Plant No.2 (Turner). The SCADA system will incorporate 5 ground storage tanks, 1 elevated storage tank and a Water Treatment Plant (Turner), where the proposed water storage tank will be located. The SCADA system will further reduce the magnitude and frequency of the community's exposure to public health impacts from low distribution system pressures and low disinfectant residuals, and result in more cost-effective management of the utility system.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

[Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies]

 

Project Name: City of Edcouch Detention Pond Project

Amount Requested: $1,841,763

Recipient: City of Edcouch, 211 W Southern St., Edcouch, Texas 78538

Explanation: t. The City of Edcouch is an area that has historically experienced some of the worst flooding in the nation and this project will directly address this problem by creating a detention pond next to Ybarra Middle School. This detention pond will alleviate flooding in this area and allow for the school to serve as a disaster safe zone whenever storms hit the area. Further, to have best use of land and space, park components will be added to detention pond area to serve the students and community year-round.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Combes Lateral Drain Project

Amount Requested: $1,622,500

Recipient: City of Combes, P.O. Box 280, 21626 Hand Road, Combes, Texas 78535

Explanation: This project is to upgrade the existing 24" drainage pipe that runs underneath the expressway and replacing it with the 8 x 6 box culverts to significantly expand the capacity of this drainage system to carry greater volume of storm water and prevent flooding. These improvements, once completed, will provide relief to over 327 properties in this community, including Dishman Elementary School.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: New VFW Post 2410 Building

Amount Requested: $1,875,280

Recipient: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2410, 2006 N. Whalen Rd., Harlingen, Texas 78550

Explanation: This funding would be utilized to supply our veterans and our local and surrounding communities with a new building.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Nolana Loop Expansion

Amount Requested: $4,000,000

Recipient: Hidalgo County, Hidalgo County Precinct 1, 1902 Joe Stephens Ave., Ste. 101, Weslaco, Texas 78596

Explanation: This funding is a critical component of the Nolana Loop Expansion Project - Construction from FM 88 to Mile 6 W Road ("Nolana Project"). The Nolana Project will create a new 1-mile transportation corridor that will increase safety, mobility, and connectivity for the general public and the movement of freight between under-served, rural areas of Hidalgo County to more urbanized and developed economic hubs and corridors.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Parker Drain Expansion – Phase 2

Amount Requested: $3,000,000

Recipient: Cameron County, 1390 W. Expressway 83, San Benito, Texas 78586

Explanation: This project will provide long-term permanent risk reduction because flooding is a consistent threat to Cameron County. The Parker Drain Expansion project will provide increased drainage capacity to the cities of Santa Rosa, La Feria, Combes, and unincorporated Cameron County.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: Port of Brownsville Vessel Suitability Analysis and Feasibility

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Recipient: Port of Brownsville, 1000 Foust Rd., Brownsville, Texas 78521

Explanation: This Project facilitates the Port's next generation of land-use and infrastructure development to attract public and private investment. It will also make the industries served by the Port of Brownsville more resilient and sustainable by expanding retention and expansion of good paying jobs.

Member's Signed Certification Letter

 

Project Name: SH 550 from FM1847 to FM3248

Amount Requested: $4,225,945

Recipient: Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, 3461 Carmen Ave., Rancho Viejo, Texas 78575

Explanation: The project will provide the necessary and positive impact our growing communities need including the diversification of cargo handling operations at the Port of Brownsville. The completion of SH 550 would result in truck transportation cost savings associated with delayed truck costs including the cost of trucking, safety, traffic congestion, road pavement damage, and environmental impact costs. The project will provide a more efficient and safer alternative for commercial and passenger vehicles 2 traveling to and from the Port of Brownsville along the Laguna Madre area. The 550 Gap 2 project will also improve safety in the area by keeping hazardous cargo on the interstate main lanes.

Member's Signed Certification Letter