Queen City slated to receive nearly $4 mil.

Baucus, Tester Say Funds Go Towards Public Safety, Water Projects, Health Care

(WASHINGTON D.C.) Montana’s U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced that nearly $4 million is in the pipeline for projects in the Helena-area in an upcoming appropriations bill.

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill will combine several spending bills that were not completed last year. The bill will fund dozens of projects both in Helena, and across the state.

This funding is separate from the more than $600 million that Baucus and Tester secured in the recently passed Jobs Bill.

“As a Helena native, I’m glad to see these funds coming to such deserving projects in my hometown,” Baucus said. “Whether boosting agriculture, keeping folks safe, improving folks access to clean water, or keeping kids off Meth, Jon and I were proud to go to bat for these dollars.”

“These projects are all smart investments for the Helena area because they will put folks to work now, and they will help us rebuild our economy for the long haul,” said Tester, a member of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee. “And that’s why Max and I will continue to work to bring federal dollars back home, because projects like these will keep our state moving forward.”

The bill will be voted on in the House of Representatives this week, and then be voted on in the Senate early next week. The bill is expected to pass both the House and the Senate.

The following Helena-Area Projects are in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Bill:

• Environmental Protection Agency State and Tribal Assistance Grant – City of Helena: These funds will help repair the Missouri River Water Treatment Plant Reconstruction to provide clean drinking water in the Helena-area – $300,000
• ExplorationWorks: These funds will go to ExplorationWorks which is an interactive museum- $950,000
• Montana Meth Project: This will help fund the Montana Meth Project which helps prevent kids from using meth – $1,000,000
• Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association: These funds will go towards helping track offenders in rural areas- $200,000
• Last Best Place bill language:  SEC. 105. “Hereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds appropriated under this Act or any other Act shall be used to register, issue, transfer, or enforce any trademark of the phrase ‘Last Best Place’.”
• Montana Dept of Commerce for the Native American and WIRED program: These funds will help economic development on reservations, and across the state – $494,000
• Montana AFL-CIO: These funds will go towards workforce development and training activities- $190,000
• Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee: $650,000 to improve coordination of federal, state, and private actions to eliminate brucellosis from wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Area and preventing transmission of this disease from wildlife to livestock.
• Tri-State Predator Control: $926,000 Funding for this program goes to State of Montana, and is available to statewide efforts to fund a variety of activities to control the resurgent wolf population in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.