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McDermott Pushes Funding Requests
Seattle Police Department, Ballard Locks, and Seawall To Benefit
For Immediate Release, November 10, 2005

While the House of Representatives has been unable to pass a budget reconciliation bill so far, other legislation that passed the House yesterday included several funding items championed by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa).

For the second time, McDermott obtained funding for the City of Seattle Police Department's In-Car Video Initiative. The money, $100,000, will continue the process of installing cameras in the SPD's Traffic and 9-1-1 Patrol vehicles. The initiative is a key element in a plan to improve officer safety, enhance police accountability and improve police-community relations in the City of Seattle. The appropriation came in a bill called Science, Commerce, Justice, State. In addition, McDermott teamed with other delegation members to win a $2 million appropriation for the Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative.

In other legislation approved by the House, McDermott worked to help obtain over $10 million in funding for various projects important to the 7th congressional district, and McDermott teamed with other members of the delegation to obtain another $2.25 million.

In the House, McDermott pushed for funding on over $10 million in projects. When the House and Senate passed different bills funded at different levels, McDermott worked behind the scenes with members of the conference committee and pushed for funding at full levels. In the end, that's what happened and the funding is as follows:

• $6.84 million for the Lake Washington Ship Canal Operation and Maintenance account. Funding will ensure that the Ballard locks remain open 24/7 for the entire year.
• $750,000 for the Elliot Bay Seawall Feasibility Study. Funding will allow the Army Corps to proceed with design work for eventual rehabilitation and replacement of the seawall.
• $270,000 for the Mapes Creek Habitat Enhancement Project. Funding will allow the City of Seattle to create a surface creek channel and re-pipe 1500 feet of sewer overflow pipes to improve Chinook salmon habitat.
• $1.875 million for the Green/Duwamish Ecosystem Restoration Project. Funding will allow the project to proceed toward its goal of restoring 45 identified sites along the river.
• $235,000 for the Lake Washington Ship Canal General Investigations Project. Funding will allow habitat restoration to continue in the Lake Washington watershed and in the Ship Canal.

The appropriations obtained by Rep. McDermott in concert with the rest of the delegation include:

• $750,000 for the Puget Sound Nearshore Marine Habitat Project. The project targets restoration projects in the nearshore, estuary, and marine areas of the Sound.
• $1.5 million for the Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters Initiative. Funding will allow large-scale restoration work on mainstem rivers, estuaries and marine waters.