Senator Murray Includes Critical Investments for Washington State in Fiscal Year 2013 Appropriations Bill

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced she has included critical funding for Washington state priorities in the Fiscal Year 2013 Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Bill. The bill passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations today by a vote of 28-1 and will now head to the floor for a vote by the full Senate. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the THUD Subcommittee, Senator Murray fought to ensure support for Washington state projects and programs that bolster the local economy and create jobs were included in the bill.

“This legislation will create jobs and make critical investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, rail and transit systems, and airports,” said Senator Murray. “The bill also preserves an essential part of the country’s safety net by protecting housing assistance for low-income families and veterans. I am proud of the bipartisan work that went into this legislation and the critical assistance it will deliver to my home state of Washington. Working together, we assembled a balanced bill that makes responsible investments in our economy and our nation while living within today’s budget constraints.”

A list of Washington state priorities included in the bill appears below:

• $110 million for the University Link light rail extension which will fund the continued construction of Sound Transit Link Light Rail from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington, improving the mobility of the region for thousands of transit riders and helping keep cars off I-5 reducing congestion.

• $39 million for the Columbia River Crossing.

• Funding for a new FAA Center of Excellence Jet-Fuel Research in Civil Aircraft, whose location will be determined after a national competitive process.  This Center will help Washington state continue to expand its role in leading the nation in biofuels research.

• Funding for Washington State Ferries to ensure that the region continues to get federal funding to support this critical transportation link. This bill will provide $5 million in funding directly for Washington State Ferries, as well as providing at least $40 million for which Washington State Ferries can compete. This funding is critical to Washington state as it helps ensure our ferry riders continue to have access to ferry service.

• Support for fans using King County Metro Transit to access Mariner and Husky games. This is a continued effort by Senator Murray to prevent a Bush Administration provision from limiting Metro Transit’s ability to provide access to major sporting and cultural events in King County.

• $75 million for 10,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers, these vouchers help homeless veterans have access to housing and services throughout Washington state and the nation. Since reviving the program in 2008, Senator Murray has already fought to secure funding to support 48,000 vouchers to help homeless veterans.

• $500 million for the TIGER program.  Senator Murray created TIGER in 2009 to help fund significant infrastructure projects that are critical for the economic growth of communities in Washington and across the country.  To date, this program has received over $3.5 billion and helped fund projects such as the Mercer Street Project, the South Park Bridge, the North Spokane Freeway, the West Vancouver Freight Access Project, the East Foster Wells Road Extension in the TriCities, the Extension of Sound Transit to the South 200^th Street station, and improvements to address I-5 congestion around Joint Base Lewis McChord.