Community Project Funding Requests
In 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives implemented Community Project Funding (CPF), which provides Members of Congress more input in the funding decisions that directly impact their districts by allowing local community groups to request project funding.
I am allowed to submit 10 general appropriations community project requests and 5 Transportation and Infrastructure Community Project Requests. Below are the lists of project requests I am submitting for FY2023 and that were submitted for FY2022. Thesefunding requests may or may not be approved by the relevant committee and then must proceed through the regular legislative process:
FY23 General Appropriations Community Project Funding Requests
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Opportunity Council
Address of Recipient: 100 Doyle Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $1,000,000
Explanation of Request: The purpose of this Economic Self-Sufficiency community project is to help individuals and families who are living below the poverty line to achieve economic stability and no longer need government assistance. The project will promote financial self-sufficiency by connecting families with resources to thrive. Each household will engage with a professional coach to help them establish SMART goals in areas of income, education, employment, housing, transportation, health care, mental health, substance use, parenting/social functioning, and food security. Through the ES program, households will not only increase income, but also increase social capital to support independence and community engagement.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Sheriff's Office
Address of Recipient: 100 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA, 18901
Amount of Request: $750,000
Explanation of Request: This funding would go towards technology that allows a cheek swap to be run through a small, desktop-size, machine with results in as little as 90 minutes. This previously would take 12-18 months when submitting samples to the crime lab which is experiencing an overwhelming backlog. The new Sheriff of Bucks County would like to implement a county-wide Rapid DNA Program. The acquisition of two additional instruments will allow law enforcement to implement DNA testing throughout the county. Once this Program is established, those smaller police departments within Buck’s County, with limited resources, will be able to see the same results and success as larger police departments have.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Department of Corrections
Address of Recipient: 1730 South Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $900,000
Explanation of Request: The objective of the project is to reduce recidivism. The Bucks County Jail has seen an increase in repeat offenders. Too many of these offenders are coming back to the jail for petty theft while on parole. Many of these offenders struggle with addiction. An outmate program will help these individuals be more successful once on parole, by allowing us to provide them with extended treatment specifically mental health and medical treatment as well as social services. Lehigh County, PA has implemented a similar program with much success. This program will reduce recidivism and help individuals transition back into society with greater success.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Park System
Address of Recipient: 55 East Court Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 18901
Amount of Request: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: This project will consist of a thorough evaluation and assessment of the forest vegetation in the County parks and open space near trails and outdoor infrastructure. The evaluation and assessment will enable the County to initiate a thorough tree management plan to remove hazard trees, improve public safety, and provide long term stability to our park infrastructure. This project will make a positive difference environmentally and economically as well.
Proposed Recipient: Doylestown Health Foundation
Address of Recipient: 595 West State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $1,000,000
Explanation of Request: This project would expand the heart and vascular suite at Doylestown Hospital. This state-of-the-art procedural suite currently includes a hybrid operating lab that opened in 2017 primarily for vascular surgery, and also encompasses the oldest cardiac catheterization laboratory still online at the hospital. To help meet a significant increase in patient volume and address the nation’s number one killer, heart disease, Doylestown Health’s transformational plans include building a new universal hybrid operating lab, while also renovating the oldest catheterization lab to be outfitted with the most advanced technology and equipment.
Proposed Recipient: Grand View Hospital d/b/a Grand View Health
Address of Recipient: 700 Lawn Avenue, Sellersville, PA, 189560
Amount of Request: $1,000,000
Explanation of Request: This project funding would support health facility construction of four patient-at-risk rooms in Grand View Health’s new emergency department for the provision of health and behavioral health services. The new infrastructure will improve safety for patients and staff at the hospital.
Proposed Recipient: Miracle Field of Horsham, PA
Address of Recipient: P.O. Box 183, Horsham, Pennsylvania, 19044
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: This project would bring a state-of-the-art “Miracle League” Miracle Field to the heart of Montgomery County, PA. The Miracle League is a national nonprofit whose mission is to bring the joy of baseball/softball to individuals with mental and physical disabilities. With 240+ local association members across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, the Miracle League offers its members support in building custom fields specifically designed to meet the unique needs of individuals with disabilities, including those who use a wheelchair or walker and/or have prosthetic limbs. More specifically, this project will improve land at Deep Meadow Park in Horsham, PA to include an ADA compliant baseball field, and bathrooms that are ADA compliant and readily accessible from the Miracle Field.
Proposed Recipient: Lower Bucks Hospital
Address of Recipient: 501 Bath Road, Bristol, PA, 19007
Amount of Request: $1,200,000
Explanation of Request: This project would increase the current Intensive Care Unit capacity from 10 to 22 beds at Lower Bucks Hospital. Lower Bucks serves a populated area that is in need of greater capacity due partly to COVID and complications from COVID that some patients suffer.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
Address of Recipient: 100 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA, 18901
Amount of Request: $545,000
Explanation of Request: This project would help improve community relations for law enforcement. Bucks County made history in early 2020 when the Bucks DA became the first to license the film, WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer. In less than a year, the DA’s office secured commitments from 30 of the 39 police chiefs in Bucks County to use the film to train officers, generated interest from a Bucks County high school to make viewing the film a graduation requirement, secured a commitment from the County Commissioner to use the film to train all 2,400 county employees on the L.O.V.E. Is The Answer principles, and garnered commitments from several other DA’s in Pennsylvania to use the film to improve police-community relations. This one-time funding request will enable the DA to go deeper and broader in their work, and position Bucks County as a national model for police-community relations.
Proposed Recipient: The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Morrisville
Address of Recipient: 35 Union Street, Morrisville, Pennsylvania, 19067
Amount of Request: $2,700,000
Explanation of Request: The Morrisville Municipal Authority is in the process of completing planning and design of a new wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). The project will provide needed wastewater infrastructure to Morrisville which will in turn improve the economic outlook of the community.
Proposed Recipient: School District of Borough of Morrisville
Address of Recipient: 550 West Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA, 19067
Amount of Request: $850,000
Explanation of Request: The purpose of the School District of Borough of Morrisville’s Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology Innovation Program is to increase student achievement through the development and implementation of innovative instructional practices, curriculum revision, technology integration, the establishment of professional learning communities, and the growth of afterschool and summer support programming. The Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology Innovation Program responds to the need of our school community for a full-scale evaluation, revision, and implementation of innovative curriculum, instructional strategies, and research-based technology integration to support student achievement through the closing of historic curricular and resource gaps and the implementation of professional learning communities. This investment in technology learning will lead to better students and a better workforce for the future.
Proposed Recipient: Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks
Address of Recipient: 216 Pond Street, Bristol, Pennsylvania, 19007
Amount of Request: $1,500,000
Explanation of Request: This project has been part of a decades-long effort to repurpose this former residential development that was abandoned by the Navy Department. The project site is adjacent to, and will become part of, the 243-acre Warminster Community Park. Facilities available at the Warminster Community Park include walking trails, nature areas, parking, playground, pavilion, picnic area, pond, restrooms and soccer fields. The project site is a vacant, blighted property and a designated Certified Redevelopment Area under the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Industrial Development Authority
Address of Recipient: 11 Welden Drive, Suite 100, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: This project funding will go towards helping Bucks County entrepreneurs by providing them needed resources. Mentoring services and oversight resources are included to help with the administration of the Bucks Built Startup Fund. This project will help spur further economic development and help bring more startups to the Bucks County everyone.
Proposed Recipient: Appalachian Mountain Club
Address of Recipient: 100 Illick's Mill Road, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18017
Amount of Request: $1,770,000
Explanation of Request: This project would help link the rail trails in Upper Bucks County. These trails are great for the environment and recreation and bring visitors from near and far to the area. These visitors will help boost economic development in the area.
Proposed Recipient: YMCA of Bucks & Hunterdon Counties
Address of Recipient: 2500 Lower State Road, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 18901
Amount of Request: $2,000,000
Explanation of Request: The Morrisville Y is a safe community space that offers positive opportunities for families. In addition to helping to nurture children and prepare them for school and life, the Y also offers support for the adult caregivers of the young people in our care. In order to strengthen the Y’s programs, the branch is in desperate need of total renovations to all classrooms, windows, the roof, and asbestos removal. Renovations will allow the Y to improve the safety and quality of the facility, uplift the children and youth. The Morrisville YMCA has early care, school age and summer camp programs.
FY22 General Appropriations Community Project Funding Requests
Proposed Recipient: Bristol Borough
Address of Recipient: 250 Pond Street, Bristol, PA 19007
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: The project would improve safety, functionality, and access to the Bristol Waterfront Park and Maple Beach Road Bridge. The reconstruction of the Maple Beach Bridge over Otter Creek will allow visitors to fully enjoy the entire length of the Marsh, provide recreation opportunities in Maple Beach, and offer direct access to the Wastewater Treatment Plant for Borough employees. With additional funding, the Borough will also be able to update the Waterfront Park stormwater conveyance system, which is in serious need of upgrades to alleviate flooding from large storms and high tides. Lastly, necessary updates to the outdated park lighting will improve safety and visibility for patrons of the park.
Proposed Recipient: Main St. Missions
Address of Recipient: 71 Oak Drive, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $200,000
Explanation of Request: The Corinne Sikora Wellness and Support Center will offer a wide range of services and programs free of charge to Bucks County cancer patients and their families and caregivers. The center will be a comforting place where patients can have their critical emotional, social, physical, and lifestyle needs met throughout their journey of cancer care, recovery, and beyond.
Proposed Recipient: Doylestown Health Foundation
Address of Recipient: 595 West State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
Amount of Request: $100,000
Explanation of Request: The Doylestown Hospital Infant Protection Project will provide infant protection equipment and software to the Village Improvement Association’s Maternity Center at Doylestown Hospital. The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will support the protection and security of infants and children throughout the community by providing vital medical technology that prevents infant abduction in hospitals.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Department of Mental Health and Developmental Programs
Address of Recipient: 55 East Court Street, 4th Floor, Doylestown, PA 18901.
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: The proposed center will consist of a short-term observation unit, a restoration to competency unit, and a residential treatment facility. The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it provides a multipurpose community-based option to support justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness or co-occurring substance use issues in preventing incarceration.
Proposed Recipient: Hepatitis B Foundation
Address of Recipient: 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902
Amount of Request: $475,000
Explanation of Request: This will allow the Hepatitis B Foundation to provide expert resources, training, and technical assistance on how to prevent, treat, and control hepatitis B to state and local health departments, social service organizations, and community health providers. Furthermore, the Center will build public health infrastructure to decrease health disparities and improve health access and outcomes in underserved, disparately impacted communities of color, working toward the ultimate goal of hepatitis B elimination.
Proposed Recipient: Bucks County Planning Commission,
Address of Recipient: 1260 Almshouse Road, Doylestown PA, 18901.
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: The Newtown Rail Trail will be an extension of the Pennypack Creek Trail and will use the right-of-way of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s former Newtown Line. Once completed, there will be a 25-mile continuous off-road trail from Newtown to the Delaware River in Holmesburg. The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would provide a critical off-road, multi-purpose trail that will be a part of the regional Circuit Trails system of trails and answers to the increased demand for safe outdoor recreation infrastructure.
Proposed Recipient: Delaware River Basin Commission
Address of Recipient: 25 Cosey Road, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628
Amount of Request: $715,000
Explanation of Request: The proposed project will maintain and improve water security for the 13 million people who derive their water resources from the Delaware River Basin and local communities in my district. Bucks and Montgomery County communities rely upon water security programs, including clean water, water availability, water resiliency, and water equity, to support a robust and diverse local economy. As communities across the Delaware River Basin navigate the impacts of climate change or rely on water supply monitoring for contaminants of emerging concern such as PFAS, the water resources program of the DRBC is more critical now than ever before.
Proposed Recipient: St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital
Address of Recipient: 1021 Park Avenue, Quakertown, PA 18951
Amount of Request: $400,000
Explanation of Request: The proposed renovation includes expanding the current Behavioral Health Unit from 19 to 24 beds, with a potential for an additional eight beds dedicated to Severe Mental Illness. The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it addresses the overwhelming need for behavioral health services in Bucks County. St. Luke’s Quakertown continues to see a rising demand for behavioral health services, yet there are not enough resources or beds available for treatment. The expansion of the Behavioral Health Unit and increased behavioral health services are critical to the community.
Proposed Recipient: Woods Services, Inc.
Address of Recipient: 40 Martin Gross Drive, Langhorne, PA 19047
Amount of Request: $500,000
Explanation of Request: Woods Services has designed a specialized mental health outpatient program, which will incorporate a mobile mental health unit that will provide in-home, crisis intervention, and ongoing training and support for families and caregivers. The program would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it will bridge the gap in mental health services in Bucks County. The mental health outpatient program is expected to reduce costs associate with unnecessary ER visits and hospitalizations and improve the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions within the community.
Proposed Recipient: YMCA of Bucks County
Address of Recipient: 601 S. Oxford Valley Road, Fairless Hills, PA 19030
Amount of Request: $600,000
Explanation of Request: The proposed project is a 45,000 square foot capital renovation of the facility. The revitalization is an important effort in improving the health, wellness, and livelihood of tens of thousands of vulnerable individuals residing in the lower region of Bucks County. The project would be a valuable use of taxpayer funds because it would allow the Fairless Hills branch to serve more people and address the needs of low to moderate-income families in the community, including those with health disparities.