“I am proud to have helped secure this vital funding which will provide jobs and create economic opportunities for Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District,” Ross said. “Securing these funds demonstrates the commitment of Congress to these projects despite a tightened belt and across-the-board spending cuts. I am pleased to have worked with my colleagues in the Arkansas Congressional Delegation to ensure that these funds were included in the final spending bill.”

The omnibus appropriations package combines eleven of the twelve annual spending bills which fund the U.S. Government each year. Earlier this year, Ross helped pass the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2008, which has been signed into law by the President. The Senate is now expected to approve the measure before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law.

Agriculture

$339,606 for the Center for Integrated Forest Management Strategies at the University of Arkansas in Monticello – The funding will be used for forestry research and education activities.

$142,992 for the Small Farms Wetlands Management Center – The Small Farms Wetland Management Center will work in conjunction with UAPB on conservation.

$44,316,000 for the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in Jefferson County. 

$2,979,000 for the Delta Regional Authority – The funding will be used to award grants in the Delta region.

$3,972,000 for the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center in Booneville.

$577,926 for the National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information at the University of Arkansas. 

$1,058,538 for the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center in Booneville – The funding will be used to conduct endophyte research.

Approximately $296,142 for the Aquaculture Systems Research Unit at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. 

Commerce, Justice, and Science

$535,800 for the City of Pine Bluff Police Department, Interoperable Communications System - These funds will enable the city of Pine Bluff’s Police Department to acquire an interoperable communications system linking the police department and fire department with the Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency for county-wide 911 dispatch.           

$47,000 for the Hot Springs Police Department SWAT – The Hot Springs Police Department will use the funds to purchase bullet-proof vests and tactical assault rifles for its SWAT team.

$329,000 for the Hot Spring Police Department.

$235,000 for Ouachita County Sheriff’s Department.

$47,000 for the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office.

Interior

$492,200 for the City of Pine Bluff – Pine Bluff will use the funds to extend the sewer lines in Pine Bluff south under Interstate 530 and provide service to the industrial area on both sides of Olive Street.

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

$421,506 for the Drew County Memorial Hospital - These funds will be used for the construction of facilities and the purchase of equipment for the Drew County Memorial Hospital.                       

$957,967 for the Nursing Program at Jefferson Regional Medical Center for Equipment Acquisition - The Jefferson Regional Medical Center recently approved an expansion of its nursing school, and these federal funds will be used to equip the new classrooms with new nursing education technology.

Transportation and Housing and Urban Development

$656,600 for the Texarkana Regional Airport - Funding will be used for the construction of a new Aircraft Firefighting and Rescue station.

$2,626,400 for the Interstate 69/Great River Bridge: Highway 65-MS Highway 1 (South Arkansas).

$980,000 for Highway 71/Future Interstate 49 Development and Construction (Doddridge) – The funds will be used for continued expansion of Highway 71/Interstate 49 between Doddridge, and the Arkansas-Louisiana state line. Once completed, the I-49 Corridor will provide a direct route between Winnipeg, Canada, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

$393,960 for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Completion of UAPB Business Support Incubator - This funding will assist the Economic Research and Development Center in completing Phase II of the Business Support Incubator project.

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