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McDermott Obtains Seawall Study Funding for Seattle
July 19, 2007
For Immediate Release

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) announced today that his $300,000 earmark request to continue a critical Seattle seawall study being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was approved in the 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed the House.

"This study will largely determine whether there should be a federal role in restoring the seawall, which is vital for preserving and protecting Seattle's precious waterfront, and supporting a replacement viaduct if there is one," McDermott said. "I believe a study will prove without doubt that the federal government should play a role in restoring the seawall, and that will make significant future federal funding possible to do the work."

In addition, McDermott said he worked with other Members of the Washington delegation to secure another $3.5 million in the Energy and Water legislation for three other vital Seattle-area projects: $1,600,000 for Duwamish/Green River Ecosystem restoration work; $1,330,000 for Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters restoration work; and, $600,000 for Puget Sound Nearshore restoration work. These environmental projects are noteworthy because they provide important funding for habitat restoration work for salmon and other fish, birds, and wildlife.

McDermott also announced that he successfully obtained federal funding for key social programs in Seattle as part of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act that passed the House this evening. McDermott secured $200,000 for One World Now! to expand its after-school programs for students to learn Arabic and Chinese, and to provide these students with a chance to study abroad; and he secured $100,000 for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance's proton therapy program, which will make this leading-edge form of radiation treatment available to patients in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Wyoming. McDermott also teamed with other Members of the Washington delegation to secure $100,000 for NW Kidney Center's medical surge capacity project, which will provide additional surge capacity for thousands of kidney patients in the Seattle area in the event of an emergency.

"I'm proud that Seattle is home to these invaluable and worthwhile programs," McDermott said, "because they prove, each in their own way, what we can do by believing in the common good, everyone working together to enhance and save lives, and to build a better world through understanding."

With passage in the House, both bills go to the Senate for legislative action.