House Passes Omnibus Appropriations Bill:
Bordallo Secures Federal Assistance to Improve Transportation and Water Infrastructure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 8, 2003 – Washington, D.C. – The House passed H.R.2673, the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY 2004, by a vote of 242-176. The spending measure includes seven appropriations bills (Agriculture, VA-HUD, Labor-HHS, District of Columbia, Commerce-Justice-State, Foreign Operations, and Treasury-Transportation). The $328 billion spending measure bill includes several appropriations included by Congresswoman Bordallo.

“I am happy to report that the $300,000 I requested for the Guam Waterworks Authority for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements has been included in this omnibus appropriations bill. Given the state of disrepair of Guam’s water system, federal assistance in this area will be of great benefit,” Bordallo said.

The federal funding will upgrade the current systems and monitoring equipment for the local water supply. The Guam Waterworks Authority’s (GWA) chlorinators frequently are out of service and can stop working without warning, allowing sewage or other contaminants that enter the drinking water distribution system to flow untreated to Guam homes. The inadequate chlorination system increases the public health risk by failing to control pathogens in the drinking water. The funding would enable GWA to address these issues and allow them to provide safer drinking water to the people of Guam.

“I was also able to secure an additional $400,000 for a Flood Mitigation Bridge Improvement Project for the Hagatna River. This infrastructure improvement will contribute to the revitalization of the Hagatna area, allowing additional development and improving traffic flow and safety,” Bordallo added. “This funding is a good concrete step towards addressing Guam's problems with National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) compliance. Improving the Hagåtña River bridges and remapping the flood plain should help Guam stave off NFIP suspension," remarked Bordallo.

Noncompliance with NFIP requirements would prohibit Guam from receiving federal assistance by agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Freddie Mac and the Small Business Administration. By widening the bridges over the Hagåtña River, the river's flow capacity would be increased and the flooding potential would be reduced significantly.

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Contact: Neil Weare in Washington, D.C., at (202) 225-1188 or Joaquin Perez in Guam at (671) 477-4272.