Baucus, Tester announce millions in funding for Billings

Funding for Shiloh Road, Red Lodge, Roundup also included in bill

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester today detailed several Billings-area projects that are slated to receive millions of dollars in federal funding for Fiscal Year 2009.

The projects, which create jobs and boost Montana’s economy, are part of an overall appropriations bill that funds the federal government.

“Jon and I worked hard to get these worthwhile projects the funding they deserve because they create good-paying jobs and make the Magic City a better place to live, do business and raise a family,” Baucus said.  “These are all projects that will move our economy forward and we’re proud to fight for them in the U.S. Senate.”

“These projects are all smart investments for the Billings area because they will put folks to work now, and they will help us rebuild our economy for the long haul,” said Tester, a new member of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal discretionary spending.  “Max and I are proud of these projects because they will help get our economy back on track.”

Baucus and Tester detailed the following projects for the Billings area:

• $4.75 million for the City of Billings to upgrade Shiloh Road.  An expanded roadway will result in an estimated $750 million in capital development investment.
• $269,000 for the City of Billings Police Department to purchase in-car video cameras for 70 police cars.  The cameras will make citizens and officers safer and will help prosecute criminals.
• $475,000 to help the City of Billings to clean up and put to use the site of the former Naval Reserve Center.
• $308,750 for the Big Sky Economic Development Authority to redevelop and bring new businesses to the section of Billings between downtown and Metrapark.
• $247,700 to for the City of Billings’ MET Transit system to replace its specialized bus for disabled passengers.
• $350,000 for Montana State University-Billings’ Academic Workforce Development Program at the Montana Women’s Prison.  The program provides life skills to inmates by offering coursework for certificates and associates degrees.
• $285,000 for Billings Clinic’s internal medicine program.  The program partners with the University of Washington School of Medicine to allow doctors and other health care providers to train in Montana.  The funding will also help Billings Clinic build additional facilities in rural Montana.
• $238,000 for St. Vincent Healthcare to allow pediatric specialists from around the region care for children through telemedicine and to help fund the Montana Pediatric Project.
• $333,000 to help Red Lodge’s Beartooth Hospital build a new, modern 48,000 square-foot facility.
• $333,000 for Roundup Memorial Healthcare to upgrade the hospital’s waiting room and make its restrooms wheelchair-accessible.
• $1 million to help the Bureau of Land Management purchase 520 acres of land near Red Lodge that is home to the Meeteetse Spires, a unique geological formation.

Baucus and Tester will announce federal funding for other Montana-specific projects for Fiscal Year 2010 later this year.