Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, applauded a $7.4 million award for Public Utility District No. 1 of Skamania County to upgrade an electrical power substation and support the energy needs of commercial customers and families in the region. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) award, to be matched with more than $1.8 million in local investment, is expected to save 175 jobs and spur nearly $2.5 million in private investment.
“I’m glad to see this federal funding flowing to Skamania County, especially as the area recovers from damage done to critical infrastructure by storms and flooding. As communities across our state and around the country move forward on key projects to help local economies grow, the federal government should be helping to support those efforts whenever possible,” said Senator Murray. “As a partner with local governments throughout Washington state, I’ll continue pushing for federal investments in our communities, like this one, that help upgrade and modernize our infrastructure and support local businesses and families.”
As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray has long fought for increased federal investment in infrastructure in Washington State and across the country. To accomplish this, Senator Murray created the TIGER grant program, now called the BUILD program, in 2009, which has awarded $5.6 billion to help facilitate 462 road, rail, transit, and port projects in every state in the country, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. As of 2018, Washington State has received $248 million to support 17 transportation projects, and this past year the Port of Everett was awarded an additional $15.5 million to modernize the Everett waterfront.
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