November 8, 2007
Today, Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) announced that the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 269-142. The bill includes funding secured by Rep. Matsui for key Sacramento region initiatives.
“The passage of this bill represents a great achievement for the people of Sacramento and across the country. I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to realize the importance of funding these projects, and preserve the funding levels as they vote on the bill,” said Rep. Matsui.
The University of California, Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) will receive $595,000. With these funds, U.C. Davis will be able to provide classroom equipment and instructional technology at the medical library and the education center, ranging from high-quality projection and video streaming capabilities to wireless connectivity and distance learning technologies.
“These federal funds are an important investment in education and the future health of people in California and beyond. We are thankful to Congresswoman Matsui and her unwavering support and dedication to improving the health of our community,” said Clair Pomeroy, Vice Chancellor of Human Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at U.C. Davis. Rep. Matsui also worked to secure $80,000 for the California Senior Legal Hotline to increase services to non-English-speaking seniors. With this money, the Hotline will be able to implement and evaluate a comprehensive new system to dramatically increase these services. Across the country, such hotlines have developed an effective method of delivering help to seniors.
“We are grateful to Rep. Matsui for trying to help meet the needs of California's seniors through the federal budget process. The extra infusion secured by Rep. Matsui will go directly for boosting the hotline's capacity in the coming year, including its ability to serve non-English speakers,” said David Mandel, Supervising Attorney, Senior Legal Hotline, Legal Services of Northern California.
Finally, Rep. Matsui worked closely with the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) to bring $100,000 to the agency. The money will help provide additional services to the chronically homeless population of the Sacramento area.
"The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency is pleased that the federal government is supporting our efforts to end chronic homelessness in the City and County of Sacramento. We have critical gaps in the services needed to stably house 240 individuals over the next five years. These funds will help provide essential case management services so that the people we house can achieve long-term independence,” said Anne M. Moore, Executive Director of SHRA.
“This bill represents a much-needed return to the priorities of the American people. It makes significant investments in services that will greatly benefit the people of the Sacramento region; investments that make great inroads into the betterment of our community,” said Rep. Matsui.
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