Garamendi Secures Congressional Funding for Affordable Housing, Public Transit, Early Childhood Education, and More

U.S. Representative Secures $9.65 Million in Federal Funding for Community Projects

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative John Garamendi (D-CA08) secured more than $9.65 million in new federal funding in the annual “Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024” (H.R.4820), which the U.S. House of Representatives passed today.

“Each year in Congress, I work to secure much-needed federal funding for local projects that deliver affordable housing, access to healthy food, better public transit, reliable childcare, and more walkable neighborhoods. These 11 projects will make our community an even better place to live for working families and all residents,” said Garamendi.

Affordable Housing & Food Deserts

• $1,050,000 for the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation’s Giant Road Apartment Rehabilitation Project in San Pablo, CA. This federal funding would allow this local nonprofit to rehabilitate 86 units of affordable, multi-family permanent rental housing to extremely low and low-income families and individuals.
• $500,000 for the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond’s proposed Heritage Point Grocery Store in Richmond, CA. This federal funding would help construct a new, community grocery store in north Richmond, which does not have access to fresh food and is widely considered a food desert in the East Bay.

Public Transit & Road Improvements

• $3 million for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project in Vallejo, CA. This federal funding and project would relocate the gangway and float for the Vallejo Ferry Terminal further out into the Mare Island Strait at the mouth of the Napa River. This would allow direct ferry service from Vallejo to San Francisco for approximately 1.2 million passengers annually without interruption during low tide events or for dredging of the Mare Island Strait Channel, saving an estimated $21 million over the next 20 years.
• $1 million for Contra Costa County’s San Francisco Bay Trail Gap Closure between Rodeo and Crockett, CA. This federal funding would be used to close a 3.2-mile gap along the regional San Francisco Bay Trail by converting one of the four lanes on San Pablo Avenue into a “complete street” with a protected Class I shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians between the unincorporated communities of Rodeo and Crockett.
• $900,000 for the East Bay Regional Park District’s Martinez-San Francisco Bay Trail Gap Closure Project. This federal funding would help to complete a half-mile gap in a separated bicycle and pedestrian path between the existing George Miller Regional Trail and the Amtrak Station in downtown Martinez, CA. When completed, this project will achieve a continuously paved, regional trail route connecting the Cities of Vallejo, Benicia, Crockett, and Martinez, California within the San Francisco Bay Trail network.
• $850,000 for the City of Hercules’ Hub Multi-Modal Transportation Station. This federal funding would help to complete both the preliminary engineering and environmental clearance and the final design phases for the Hercules Hub Project, a proposed multi-modal transportation station. The Hercules Hub will provide efficient, regionally connected transit services, alleviating road congestion along some of the busiest corridors in the Bay Area.
• $850,000 for Solano Transportation Authority’s State Route 37-Fairgrounds Drive Interchange Improvement Project. This federal funding would help to improve safety and ease congestion by reconstructing the interchange of State Route 37 and Fairground Drive, a major roadway connection between Solano and Napa Counties.
• $850,000 for the City of San Pablo’s San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement/Complete Streets Project. This federal funding and project would realign the skewed, five-legged intersection on top of the San Pablo Avenue Bridge, which was built in 1926 and must be replaced. This would complete the non-bridge aspects needed for this bridge replacement project.
• $500,000 for the City of Fairfield’s Transit and Municipal Fleet Electrification Project. This federal funding would help to install maintenance and charging infrastructure for Fairfield’s transit vehicle fleet and purchase two additional battery-electric vehicles for a new micro-transit service providing point-to-point service for areas currently underserved by existing services.
• $500,000 for Sonoma County Transportation Authority’s Tolay Creek Bridge Replacement and Restoration Project, with Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA04) and Jared Huffman (D-CA02). This federal funding will help to replace the existing 60-foot long, two-lane State Route 37 bridge over Tolay Creek, relieving congestion and improving safety by closing a gap on the San Francisco Bay Trail for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Early Childhood Education

• $500,000 for Solano County’s Vallejo Early Learning Center. This federal funding would help to create a new Early Learning Center in Vallejo, CA, offering a variety of high-quality early education for young children and safe, reliable childcare for working families.

The House and Senate will now negotiate a final funding bill for the President’s signature. Congressman Garamendi continues working with his Democratic colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee to safeguard funding for these critical projects in Solano and Contra Costa Counties.

###

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators in the Article

SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article:

1. SDG 1: No Poverty
2. SDG 2: Zero Hunger
3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
4. SDG 4: Quality Education
5. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
6. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
7. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
8. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Specific Targets Based on the Article’s Content:

• Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
• Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round.
• Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
• Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• Target 8.1: Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 percent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries.
• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
• Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe, and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private, and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article:

• Indicator 1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and age.
• Indicator 2.1.1: Prevalence of undernourishment in the population, based on the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) methodology.
• Indicator 3.8.1: Coverage of essential health services (defined as the average coverage of essential services based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and service capacity and access).
• Indicator 4.2.1: Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning, and psychosocial well-being, by sex.
• Indicator 8.1.1: Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita.
• Indicator 9.1.1: Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road.
• Indicator 11.1.1: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing.
• Indicator 17.17.1: Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators