{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2010-12-22-pt1-PgE2238-3", "2010-12-22", 111, 2, null, null, "FEDERAL GRANTS AND APPROPRIATIONS FOR LOCAL PROJECTS", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "ALLOTHER", "E2238", "E2240", "[{\"name\": \"John J. Hall\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "156 Cong. Rec. E2238", "Congressional Record, Volume 156 Issue 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2238-E2240]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n          FEDERAL GRANTS AND APPROPRIATIONS FOR LOCAL PROJECTS\n\n                                 ______\n\n                           HON. JOHN J. HALL\n\n                              of new york\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                      Wednesday, December 22, 2010\n\n  Mr. HALL of New York. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit the\nfollowing:\n  I was proud to bring millions of federal dollars home to local\ntaxpayers. New Yorkers pay more in federal taxes than New York receives\nin federal funding support, so I worked hard to bring additional\ndollars back home for local projects, thereby reducing the burden on\nlocal property taxpayers.\n\n                             orange county\n\n  Obtained $19.6m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\ninfrastructure upgrades and renovations at the U.S. Military Academy at\nWest Point.\n  Obtained $4.4m from the U.S. Department of Transportation for\nimproved runway lighting and resurfacing at Stewart Airport, thereby\nincreasing its air traffic capacity. The new lighting improves both\nenergy efficiency and public safety during take offs and landings.\n  Obtained $3.6m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\nrepairs and renovations at the Stewart Air National Guard base.\n  Obtained over $3.5m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act\nfor energy efficiency improvements in Orange County.\n  Obtained $2.3m for the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School\nDistrict, including $1.5m in federal impact aid and $800,000 in federal\nfunding to improve science and technology programs.\n  Obtained $2m in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to\nconstruct a new water filtration plant for the Village of Warwick.\n\n[[Page E2239]]\n\n  Obtained $1.33m in federal funding to support the Newburgh-Beacon\nferry enabling easier access to public transportation for commuters.\n  Obtained $597,000 from the Department of Homeland Security for five\nlocal fire departments, including Greenville Fire Department; the Slate\nHill and New Hampton Fire Departments in Wawayanda; and the Johnson and\nthe Unionville Fire Departments in Minisink.\n  Obtained $564,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\nimprovement projects at Greenwood Lake.\n  Obtained $394,000 in federal funding to replace the Hambletonian\nWater Main in Goshen which improved water quality and saved property\ntax dollars.\n  Obtained $245,600 in federal funds for the Hudson Valley Agricultural\nViability Program that will create jobs and attract private investment\nin local farms.\n  Obtained $110,000 for the Port Jervis Police Department to upgrade\ntheir outdated communications system.\n  Obtained $160,000 in federal funding for the Monroe Police\nDepartment.\n  Obtained $95,300 in federal funding for St. Anthony Community\nHospital in Warwick for their Wound Care Program.\n  Obtained a $78,683 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant\nfrom the U.S. Dept of Justice to improve public safety in Orange County\nthrough increased police patrols and improved equipment and technology.\n  Assisted in obtaining almost $72,000 for Museum Village.\n  Obtained a $66,500 Department of Homeland Security grant for the\nSouth Blooming Grove Fire District.\n  Obtained $60,000 for the Woodbury Police Department.\n  Obtained $40,000 for the Quassaick Bridge Fire District.\n\n                           Westchester County\n\n  Obtained over $13m for improvements to I-684.\n  Obtained $6.75m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\ninfrastructure upgrades and renovations of patient care areas at the\nFDR Veterans Hospital in Montrose.\n  Obtained $6.1m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\ninfrastructure improvements at the Camp Smith National Guard Training\nSite in Cortlandt.\n  Obtained $5m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a\nwater treatment plant for the Peach Lake community in North Salem. The\nnew water treatment plant will help restore the quality of the lake and\ncreate local jobs.\n  Obtained almost $2m for improvements at the Croton-Harmon train\nstation including flood prevention and infrastructure upgrades.\n  Obtained $1.96m in federal funding for reconstruction and\nimprovements to Route 6 in Cortlandt.\n  Assisted in obtaining $1.3m from the Dept of Energy for the Bedford-\nNorthern Westchester Energy Action Coalition.\n  Obtained over $1.1m for improvements to the Annsville Circle in\nCortlandt.\n  Obtained $665,000 in federal funding to improve the Peekskill\nDowntown Business District including sidewalk improvements,\nlandscaping, and lighting upgrades on Main Street.\n  Obtained $332,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice for the\nWestchester County Forensic Science Laboratory, to improve the quality\nand timeliness of medical examiner services, thereby reducing the case\nbacklog.\n  Obtained $325,000 from the federal Drug Free Communities Support\nProgram for programs sponsored by the Village of Croton-on-Hudson,\nAlliance for Safe Kids in Cortlandt Manor, and the Town of Cortlandt.\n  Obtained over $300,000 for programs at the Yorktown Senior Center.\n  Obtained $196,000 in federal funding for improvements at the South\nSalem library.\n  Obtained $120,000 from the Department of Homeland Security for the\nGoldens Bridge Volunteer Fire Department.\n  Assisted in obtaining $115,000 for the Katonah Museum of Art.\n  Obtained 98,400 in federal funding for A-HOME to build an affordable\nhome for a first responder in Lewisboro, using the most state of the\nart energy efficient technologies.\n  Obtained $95,300 in federal funding for the new emergency department\nat the Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco.\n  Obtained $87,000 for the Katonah Fire Department.\n  Obtained $70,000 in federal funding for the Pound Ridge Police\nDepartment for communications systems that will improve emergency\nresponse capabilities.\n  Obtained $47,000 in federal funding for education programs at the Van\nCortlandt Manor historic site in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson.\n\n                            Dutchess County\n\n  Obtained $8.22m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for\ninfrastructure and energy efficiency improvements at Castle Point\nVeterans Hospital.\n  Obtained $3.6m from the U.S. Department of Transportation for\nimprovements in public transportation including local busses and bus\nfacilities in Poughkeepsie.\n  Obtained $2.4m for the development and manufacture of night vision\ngoggles by E-Magin, located in Dutchess County. These goggles improve\nthe safety of our troops in the field, while creating local\nmanufacturing jobs.\n  Obtained $330,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to\nhelp retrofit stormwater systems in East Fishkill and Beekman.\n  Obtained $314,000 for Hudson River Housing in Poughkeepsie to assist\nin rehabilitating affordable homes and creating opportunities for local\nfinancing.\n  Obtained $196,000 in federal funding for the Village of Wappingers\nFalls to create Consentino Park.\n  Secured Dyson Foundation grant funding of $108,000 for Arlington High\nSchool's club ACTION students to install solar panels on the roof the\nHigh School.\n  Obtained $98,600 for the Glenham Fire District.\n  Obtained $86,000 in federal funding for technology improvements at\nthe St. Francis Hospital emergency room.\n  Obtained $77,000 for the Fishkill Fire Department.\n  Obtained $66,000 in federal funding to install solar panels on the\nBeacon Municipal Building.\n  Obtained $61,750 from the Department of Homeland Security for the\nWappingers Falls Fire Department.\n\n                             Putnam County\n\n  Obtained $1.9m from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a\nwater treatment plant for the Peach Lake community in Southeast. The\nnew water treatment plant will help restore the quality of the lake and\ncreate local jobs.\n  Obtained $1.6m for upgrades to roads in Kent.\n  Obtained $400,000 in federal funding for Putnam Valley for their Lake\nOscawana Management and Restoration Plan, saving money for local\nproperty taxpayers while improving water quality.\n  Obtained $192,000 in federal funding for Putnam Hospital Center's\ncomprehensive cancer care program.\n  Obtained $190,000 from the Department of Homeland Security for the\nMahopac Volunteer Fire Department.\n  Obtained $145,000 for the Carmel Police Department for a police\nvehicle video system.\n  Obtained $125,000 from the federal Drug Free Communities Support\nProgram for programs implemented through Putnam's Council for\nAlcoholism and Other Drugs.\n  Obtained $106,000 for equipment for the Kent Fire District.\n\n                            Rockland County\n\n  Obtained over $15m for improvements to the Palisades Parkway.\n  Obtained $2.5m for road improvements in downtown Haverstraw.\n  Obtained $383,000 in federal funding for the Stony Point Ambulance\nCorps.\n  Obtained $352,500 in federal funding for youth gang prevention\nprograms.\n  Helped obtain $297,000 from the U.S. Department of Education for the\nNorth Rockland Central School District.\n  Obtained $188,000 for the Thiells-Roseville Fire District.\n  Obtained $66,000 for the Stony Point Police Department to maintain a\nfull time school resource officer at the James A. Farley Middle School.\n\n                          Constituent Services\n\n  Casework: One of the aspects of the job that I find most rewarding is\nthe ability to assist local constituents with individual problems. In\nmany of these cases the constituent needs assistance cutting through\nthe federal bureaucracy to get the attention they need to their\nindividual situation. Although I believe that people shouldn't need to\nturn to their Congressional office in order to get their cases\nresolved, I am happy to be able to assist when such instances occur.\n  My Congressional office resolved thousands of constituent service\ncases, which included providing assistance to Veterans, Seniors with\nMedicare and Social Security concerns, foreclosure and mortgage\nassistance to homeowners, families seeking adoptions, and expediting\npassports. The Congressional office provided assistance to constituents\ntrying to reach family members during natural disasters overseas such\nas Haiti and Chile. In many of these cases our assistance made a real\ndifference in people's daily lives.\n  Some specific examples of the hundreds of successful results achieved\nby the Congressional office are described below.\n  Veterans: Obtained well over $2 million in retroactive payments and\nbenefits for individual local veterans earned but never received from\nthe Veterans Administration due to administrative backlogs and errors.\nThese awards ranged from a few dollars to over $100,000 depending on\nthe type of injury, level of disability, and length of the VA delay in\nprocessing the case.\n\n[[Page E2240]]\n\n  Successfully assisted many local Veterans in receiving long over due\ncombat medals such as medals from World War 2 for a Mahopac veteran and\nseveral Purple Heart recipients.\n  Awarded the prestigious Air Medal to former flight crewmembers of the\n336th Medical Detachment, and Army Reserve Helicopter Ambulance unit in\na ceremony at Stewart Airport. The 60 men and women of the 336th\nMedical Detachment, trained as Medevac pilots, helicopter crew chiefs\nand medics, evacuated sick and wounded soldiers from the battlefield.\nDue to adverse field conditions and administrative oversight, the\nunit's flight crews did not receive their Air Medals until my office\nintervened on their behalf.\n  Social Security: Assistance was provided to constituents such as\nexplaining eligibility for disability benefits; facilitating\ncommunication between beneficiaries and local SSA offices; assisting in\nsetting up payment schedules for overpayments to beneficiaries'\naccounts; reinstatement of disability benefits that were incorrectly\nstopped; expediting appeal hearings, expediting the processing of\nretroactive checks in favorable disability cases that included amounts\nin excess of $100,000; removal of overpayments that were mistakenly put\nonto beneficiaries' records; and assisting with the appeal of an\noverpayment waiver request.\n  For example--\n  Expedited a Social Security appeals hearing for a constituent who\nsuffered major spinal injuries, was unable to work and facing\nbankruptcy. The case was found fully favorable to the constituent.\n  Expedited a retroactive payment in a Social Security disability case\nfor $79,000.\n  Helped get a Social Security disability appeals hearing for a woman\nsuffering from a tick-borne illness similar to Lyme's Disease. The\nappeal was expedited and she was awarded more than $1,800 in monthly\nbenefits and more than $65,000 in retroactive benefits, and found\neligible for Medicare.\n  Medicare: Facilitated reimbursement for Durable Medical Equipment and\nother services.\n  Helped remove surcharge on Part B, premium and processing of\nretroactive payment.\n  Internal Revenue Service: Expedited processing of refund and economic\nstimulus payments.\n  Helped change filing status for taxpayer.\n  Department of Labor: Challenged denial of prescription coverage for a\ndrug that was in a beneficiary's plan.\n  Assisted in having overpaid monthly COBRA premium credited toward\nfuture monthly premiums.\n  Assisted with having COBRA premium reduction applied to several\nbeneficiaries who did not initially receive it.\n  Federal Trade Commission: Worked with constituents and relevant\ncredit agencies to fix mistakes on credit reports.\n  Visiting Washington DC: When constituents, school groups, and local\norganizations visit Washington DC, my office helps arrange tours, and\ncan help with other aspects of the visits. I make every effort to\npersonally greet local visitors. In 2009 my office arranged and gave\nover 700 tours of the Capitol to local families, school classes, and\nother visitors from the 19th Congressional District. The office also\nassisted with information including assistance in arranging for tours\nof other significant sites in Washington.\n  Service Academy Nominations: Each year my Congressional office\nsubmits nominations of local students to our nation's military service\nacademies including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (USMA),\nNaval (USNA), Air Force (USAFA), and Merchant Marine (USMMA) Academies.\nI consider it a great honor to be able to nominate top local students\nwho will become the next generation of military leaders. During my two\nterms in office, I was proud to serve on the U.S. Military Academy's\nBoard of Visitors.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2010-12-22-pt1-PgE2238-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7564650624990463, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}