[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

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                           HON. VERN BUCHANAN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. BUCHANAN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information 
regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 1105, the Omnibus 
Appropriations Act, 2009:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Vern Buchanan
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105
  Account: Department of Justice--COPS Law Enforcement Technology
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Manatee Community College
  Address of Requesting Entity: 5840 26th Street West, Bradenton FL 
34207
  Description of Request: I secured $200,000 for an Emergency 
Notification System using VOIP at Manatee Community College.
  VOIP technology offees many advantages; one of the biggest is the 
convergence between voice and data, which offers possibilities beyond 
regular telephone or e-mail services. A good example is using VOIP for 
mass notifications, in which a user can send an alert message 
simultaneously to a large audience in multiple ways such as text 
messaging, voice mail and e-mail. Funds will be used to purchase 
equipment and the one-time cost of installation and set-up.
  Reqesting Member: Congressman Vern Buchanan
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105
  Account: Economic Development Initiatives
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Sarasota Housing Authority
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1300 Blvd. of the Arts, Sarasota, FL 
34236
  Description of Request: I secured $237,500 for the Sarasota Housing 
Authority to build a LEED Certified community center.
  Redevelopment is already underway. Plans call for a community center 
to be built to serve as a property management office as well as a 
resident services center that will be used to provide training and 
services to residents to become self sufficient. This center is slated 
to be a LEED Certified as a green building.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Vern Buchanan
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105
  Account: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Manatee and Sarasota Counties
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1112 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton, FL 
34205 (Manatee County) 1660 Ringling Blvd. Sarasota, FL 34236 (Sarasota 
County)
  Description of Request: I secured $475,000 Intelligent Transportation 
(ITS) project in Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
  The counties are upgrading their signal systems in order to deploy a 
more advanced traffic management system. This project also complements 
a programmed State of Florida project to deploy ITS for the purpose of 
incident management on 1-75. It is expected to reduce vehicular delay 
by 9.5 million hours per year and reduce fuel consumption by 3.8 
million gallons per year.
  The counties have been coordinating their efforts. Manatee County 
will incur a greater cost on this project; as a result funding should 
be split 60-40 between the counties.
  Manatee County's project is called Advanced Traffic management System 
(ATMS), while Sarasota County has designated theirs ITS.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Vern Buchanan
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105
  Account: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Hardee County
  Address of Requesting Entity: 412 West Orange Street, Room 103, 
Wauchula, Fl. 33873 Description of Request: I secured $332,500 for 
Bridge costs on US-17.
  Funds will be utilized to construct a 500' by 43' bridge in the 
Hardee County Line/CR 634 segment. The project is an important 
component of the larger project to four-lane US-17 in Hardee County.
  This larger project is important for safety and economic reasons. US-
17 four laned entirely will be a valuable evacuation route during 
hurricanes. Also, it would provide an economic boom as many businesses 
are looking to the area in their future plans.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Vern Buchanan
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105
  Account: Alternative Analysis
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Sarasota County
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1660 Ringling Blvd. Sarasota, Fl 34236
  Description of Request: I secured $1,009,375 Sarasota County Bus 
Rapid Transit.
  Sarasota County is expanding its transit system with the most fuel-
efficient vehicles and the latest ITS technology. The Bus Rapid Transit 
Corridor Project will: connect areas of highest transit ridership 
access for key employment sites; improve the operating efficiency of 
transit services, and support regional long-term land use goals.

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