March 15, 2022

Dear Friend,

I am proud to announce that I secured $16.2 million in federal funding for nine important local projects that will have a big economic impact in our communities and create jobs by investing in critical areas like transportation, health care, education, affordable housing and much more.

Last year, I put together a committee of bipartisan North Texas leaders representing local government, small businesses, local chambers of commerce and nonprofits to provide recommendations on projects. I took the committee’s feedback and input I’ve gathered from meetings and letters from constituents like you, and I successfully advocated to the House Appropriations Committee to get these local projects included in their government funding package passed last week. 

I’m proud that our community-driven process has delivered for North Texans and the following projects were approved for funding:

• Children’s Health System of Texas (CHST) Pediatric Mental Health Innovation Center: CHST was allocated $850,000 for the creation of a Pediatric Mental Health Center to help serve an estimated 600,000 North Texas children who face mental health issues.
   
• Children’s Health System of Texas (CHST) Pediatric Mental Health Staff: CHST was allocated $900,000 to hire a pediatric psychiatrist and up to eight licensed social workers to expand mental health services for patients in the emergency room. 
  
  
• Southern Methodist University Human Trafficking Project: The SMU Human Trafficking Project was allocated $1,187,000 to directly address the deficiencies in data collection and analysis to fight human trafficking in Texas. 
  
  
• Southern Methodist University Learning Loss Program for Underserved Students: SMU was allocated $900,000 to help students who experienced learning loss in Dallas ISD schools through augmented reality and virtual reality and game-based learning.
  
  
• Resource Center Senior Housing: To meet the growing demand for care and services for the aging LGBTQ population in the Dallas community, the Resource Center was allocated $1,000,000 for the construction of an LGBTQ-friendly affordable senior housing facility. 
  
  
• UT Southwestern Center for Implementation Science, School of Public Health: UTSW was allocated $1,000,000 to support the creation of a research-intensive school dedicated to addressing health challenges and improving policymaking around chronic and emerging public health crises. 
  
  
• University of Texas at Dallas COVID-19 Student Impact Project: UTD was allocated $400,000 to study which college students in Texas have been most affected by COVID-19, where educational inequities have been exacerbated and determine efforts to show promise in retaining, supporting and re-enrolling students.
  
  
• DFW Airport Flyover Bridge Replacement and Conversion Project: The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) was allocated $5 million, the maximum amount, to help replace four seriously deficient flyover ramps in Terminals A, B, C and E.
  
  
• DFW Airport Brute Force Electric Central Utility Plant: DFW Airport was allocated $5 million, the maximum amount, to help construct a new Brute Force Electric Central Utility Plant and replace its aging steam piping distribution system.

Rep. Allred joins US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg last year for an assessment of North Texas infrastructure including DFW Airport, which Rep. Allred recently secured funding for.

This funding bill passed with strong bipartisan support. The legislation not only invests in North Texas, but it also provides critical funds to aid Ukraine and it takes the long-overdue step of finally reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. I’m proud that Congress came together and took an important step towards building a better America. It’s an honor to deliver for North Texas, where I was born and raised.

Sincerely,

Colin Allred
Member of Congress

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