Lofgren Announces Over $1 Million in Transportation, Housing, and Community Development Funding for

June 14, 2006

Media Contact: Kyra Jennings, 202.225.3072, kyra.jennings@mail.house.gov

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) secured $1.3 million for local transportation, housing and community projects in the House version of the FY07 Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill. The bill passed the House of Representative today by a vote of 406:22 and will now go to the Senate for consideration.

“Projects such as expanding the Children’s Discovery Museum, helping first-time homebuyers, or making our roads more pedestrian friendly are important to our community and will affect many people’s daily lives,” said Rep. Lofgren. “I am pleased to secure federal funding for these programs and improvements.”

San Jose projects Rep. Lofgren secured funding for include:

Almaden Expressway Pedestrian Improvement Project: $300,000. This funding will go towards making the Almaden Expressway more pedestrian friendly, making improvements in pedestrian crossings at several locations along the busy residential and commercial stretch of this Expressway.

Blossom Hill/Monterey Grade Crossing: $200,000. This funding will support the creation of a safe pedestrian cross over railroad tracks and Monterey Highway. The tracks and four-lane highway now divide a rapidly growing residential and commercial area. Several local residents have been injured or killed trying to cross in this area, including the tragic case of 2-year-old Alexander Arriaga last year.

First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program: $300,000. This funding will help the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County fund a program to provide interest free closing cost loans to low and moderate income households for their first home purchased in the county.

East Wing Expansion-Guadalupe River and Silicon Valley History Project: $100,000. This funding will allow the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (CDM) to build a 30,000 square foot outdoor exhibit gallery exhibiting the cultures along the Guadalupe River and a “green building” expansion to the museum.

San Jose International Airport Runway Guard Lights: $400,000. This funding will complete design and replacement of the runway guard lights at the San Jose International Airport as part of the airport’s Master Plan for expansion.