[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E475-E476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican 
Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following 
information regarding earmarks I received as part of the FY 2009 
Omnibus Appropriations Act:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Byrne 
Discretionary Grants
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Houston Police Department
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1200 Travis Street, Houston, TX 77002
  Description of Request: I have secured $350,000 for the Houston 
Police Department to purchase more LiveScan equipment, enabling them to 
capture electronic fingerprints and be part of the IAFIS (Integrated 
Automated Fingerprint Identification System) program which enables them 
to determine in seconds as opposed to days the alienage and criminal 
history of those they apprehend through the federal Law Enforcement 
Support Center. Previously, Houston has gone through the Texas 
Department of Public Safety which has received approximately $26 
million in grants from the National Criminal History Improvement 
Program (through the Bureau of Justice Statistics) since 1995; however, 
the Texas Department of Public Safety and the National Criminal History 
Improvement Program services the entire state and they are limited in 
the amount of funding it can provide to Houston. Houston has 6 Livescan 
machines working. Funds obtained last fiscal year helped them buy 7 
additional machines. Houston still needs 9 more machines to be fully 
electronic under IAFIS city wide.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Byrne 
Discretionary Grants
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Houston Police Department
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1200 Travis Street, Houston, TX 77002
  Description of Request: I have secured $150,000 for the Houston 
Police Department to purchase 50 additional mobile AFIS (automated 
fingerprint identification system) handheld devices that would be given 
to police officers away from their desks to quickly capture biometric 
information of suspects and quickly determine their criminal histories, 
outstanding warrants, whether they have an order of removal or bench 
warrant for a failure to appear for an immigration proceeding from 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, etc. from ICE's Office of 
Detention and Removal's deportable felon database.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Corps of Engineers, Investigations
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Sabine-Neches Navigation District
  Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 778, 2348 Hwy. 69 North, 
Nederland, TX 77627
  Description of Request: I have secured $478,000 to complete the 
feasibility study phase of deepening and widening the Sabine-Neches 
Waterway which will include beginning the Planning, Engineering, and 
Design (PED) phase of the General Investigation of deepening and 
widening the waterway.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Department of Energy, EERE
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of Houston Center for 
Clean Fuels and Power Generation (CFPG)
  Address of Requesting Entity: 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, TX 77004
  Description of Request: I have helped secure $475,750 to focus on the 
synthesis and development of clean and sustainable fuels, their 
combustion for efficient generation of portable power, and their 
exhaust after-treatment for minimal impact to the environment. CFPG is 
one component of a diverse portfolio of programs focused on energy at 
UH, which is strategically located in a vast regional petrochemical 
complex and port system, as well as the center of the international 
energy industry. CFPG program activities include: cross-cutting multi-
scale research in the sciences and engineering, technology transfer and 
integration, and educating a diverse scientific workforce in fields key 
to the success of the U.S. economy.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Corps of Engineers, O&M
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Chambers-Liberty Counties Navigation 
District
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1801 Trinity Street, Liberty, TX 77575
  Description of Request: I have secured $994,000 to maintain 
navigation along the lower Trinity River in Texas. The Trinity River 
Project is a 47 mile shallow draft waterway beginning with the Anahuac 
Channel which extends for 5.6 miles from the 6 foot depth in upper 
Trinity Bay to the Mouth of the Trinity River at Anahuac Texas. From 
the mouth of Trinity River, the channel to Liberty proceeds for 41.4 
miles along the meanders of the Trinity River to the Port of Liberty. 
Also included is a 9-foot depth channel extending from the Houston Ship 
channel along the east shore of the Trinity Bay, to a point 1 mile 
below Anahuac, Texas. Maintenance is needed to allow shallow draft 
barge access to support the current industrial residents at the Port of 
Liberty and to attract new ones. The combination of rail and barge 
traffic at the Port of Liberty creates a powerful synergy to propel the 
economic development of our primary rural community.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Corps of Engineers, O&M
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association
  Address of Requesting Entity: 2010 Butler Drive, Friendswood, TX 
77546
  Description of Request: I have helped secure $29,586,000 to maintain 
navigation of selected Gulf Intracoastal Waterway reaches in Texas such 
as the Victoria, Cedar Bayou, and Harlingen channels. Funding also 
could include installing mooring buoys at selected locations along the 
waterway and repairs to the Colorado Lock near Matagorda, Texas.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources 
and Services Administration, Health Facilities and Services
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lamar University
  Address of Requesting Entity: PO Box 10001, Beaumont, TX 77710
  Description of Request: I have secured $238,000 to Lamar University's 
Community and University Partnerships Service (CUPS) to help 
coordinate, plan and promote quality healthcare for underserved 
populations in Southeast Texas. CUPS will provide critical access to 
resources and expertise for quality healthcare coupled with traditional 
community-based delivery systems through efficient utilization of 
University resources and partnerships.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources 
and Services Administration, Health Facilities and Services
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Memorial Hermann Baptist Beaumont 
Hospital
  Address of Requesting Entity: PO Box 1591, Beaumont, TX 77704
  Description of Request: I have secured $190,000 for the Hospital's 
Behavioral Health Center to renovate the Center's appearance.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Economic Development Initiatives
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Beaumont, TX
  Address of Requesting Entity: 801 Main Street, Beaumont TX 77701
  Description of Request: I have secured $190,000 for improvements to a 
20 block area in downtown Beaumont, including Neches Street from Laurel 
to College Streets and Park Street from North to College Streets. Since 
the

[[Page E476]]

downtown improvements are an ongoing project, the design and 
construction of the project would take approximately a year and could 
begin immediately.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Ted Poe
  Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
  Account: Airport Improvement Program
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Houston Airport System, George Bush 
Intercontinental Airport
  Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 60106, Houston, TX 77205-0106
  Description of Request: I have secured $712,500 for noise mitigation 
to include the continued residential acquisition and sound insulation 
program. The August 2000 Record of Decision for the Houston's George 
Bush Intercontinental Airport Runway 8L-26R and Associated Near-Term 
Master Plan Projects and Federal Actions identified a series of actions 
necessary to mitigate the environment impacts associated with the new 
runway and the related airport improvements. In terms of discernible 
community impacts, aircraft noise is the primary activity requiring 
mitigation. As noted in the Record of Decision (page 53), ``The primary 
responsibility for implementation of the mitigation measures lies with 
the Houston Airport System and the FAA will take appropriate steps 
through federal funding grant assurances and grant conditions, airport 
layout plan approvals, and contract plans and specifications to ensure 
that the following mitigation actions are implemented during project 
developments. The approvals contained in this Record of Decision are 
specifically conditioned upon full implementation of these mitigation 
measures.'' The measures identified in the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement and the Record of Decision are acquisition and soundproofing 
of residential properties exposed to significant noise impacts. 
Property acquisition and soundproofing have been underway for several 
years. To date, over $35 million has been invested in this program.

                          ____________________