[StBernard] Landrieu Secures $7M for La.

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Fri Jun 27 08:41:50 EDT 2008


Landrieu Secures $7M For La.
Shreveport's Centenary College to receive $1M for new science facility.



WASHINGTON - United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today secured $7
million for Louisiana projects in the Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill that was approved by the
Senate Appropriations Committee this afternoon. The funding includes $1
million for construction, renovation and equipment of a health training
facility at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport. Another $850,000
will go to St. Bernard Parish for the construction, renovation and equipment
of a medical facility. St. Bernard Parish was left completely underwater
after Hurricane Katrina and still does not have a hospital.

"This bill is all about making investments in American families, " said Sen.
Landrieu, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "The provisions
of this legislation support community health centers, which will increase
access to primary care for all Americans and mitigate skyrocketing health
care costs. The bill supports education, increasing funding to
under-resourced schools and helping to ensure that all of our children have
access to quality education. It invests in workforce development and medical
research, helping to move our country and the state forward as we work to
grow our economy and cure disease. I am pleased that these critical programs
are receiving strong support."

"I'm so happy - indeed, all of us here at Centenary are so happy - to have
Senator Landrieu's support and vote of confidence for the work that our
faculty and students do together and that our alumni do once they leave the
college," said Darrel Colson, provost and dean of Centenary College of
Louisiana. "We continue to be grateful to have a senior Senator who places
such a high priority on the education of young people.

"Building a new science facility will enable us to continue to strengthen
Centenary's tradition of educating young people in scientific and health
care fields so important to progress in Louisiana and in the nation."

"This funding will address the need for us to continue to be competitive in
those areas by having a new facility," said Centenary's President Kenneth
Schwab. "We have a very strong faculty, but our facility is aging, and this
will give us the ability to jump start the process of building a new
facility."

The bill also contains $14.5 billion for Title I grants, which is $500
million more than what was included last year and $200 million more than the
President requested. These grants are intended to bolster the academic
achievement of disadvantaged students.

"The nation faces immense challenges in improving the academic performance
of all students to remain competitive in the global economy," Sen. Landrieu
said. "A staggering 1.2 million students won't graduate from high school
this year. Title I is a crucial investment in our schools that are
struggling most, and will provide targeted funding to those that are lagging
behind in academic achievement."

Sen. Landrieu was able to secure an additional $5 million in federal charter
school funding, on top of the $211 million that was already included in the
legislation. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast,
New Orleans has rebuilt its public school system based on independence,
innovation and community choice, and 50 percent of the city's schools are
charter schools. Fifty-seven percent of New Orleans public school students
now attend charter schools, which is more than any other urban district in
the country.

"High quality, public charter schools are an integral part of public
education reform," Sen. Landrieu said. "The continued growth of public
charters in New Orleans has demonstrated the potential of these types of
educational institutions, and we need to be focusing our efforts on growing
high-quality public charters schools that are helping their students to
achieve academic excellence."

The bill also includes language by Sen. Landrieu urging the Department of
Health and Human Services to clarify that if a foster youth is temporarily
residing out of state but is otherwise eligible for independent living
services, that state may not deny eligibility or terminate ongoing living
assistance to that youth.

Additional Landrieu language in the bill recommends that the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) develop a specific focus on the
needs of foster youth and older children who are adopted. These children
often suffer from depression, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress
disorder and substance abuse at disproportionately higher rates, and Sen.
Landrieu believes that these unique needs should be a specific focus within
SAMHSA.

While the President's budget did not include any funds for Even Start - a
program that funds literacy projects for eligible low-income families - the
Senate bill restored the program's funding to $66 million.

"The Even Start program's tremendous impact on low-income families has been
ever apparent in Louisiana," Sen. Landrieu said.

Sen. Landrieu also supported an amendment to the bill that will delay a
directive that would have harmed Louisiana's ability to make decisions about
providing health care coverage to the poorest children in the state through
the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Other Louisiana projects Sen. Landrieu secured in the bill include:

. Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA - Program in K-12 cyberspace
education, in cooperation with members of the Consortium for Education,
Research and Technology of North Louisiana -$700,000.

. Saint Bernard Parish School Board, Chalmette, LA - Educational
programming including educational equipment for a cultural arts facility -
$750,000.

. Early Childhood and Family Learning Center Foundation, New
Orleans, LA - Educational programs - $300,000.

. Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, Metairie, LA. -
Community Nursing Elder Trauma Response Program demonstration project -
$250,000.

. Miles Perret Cancer Services, Lafayette, LA - Purchase and
equipping of a mobile unit for use in rural areas - $300,000.

. University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA - Purchase of a
mobile dental unit for use in rural Louisiana - $400,000.

. University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA - Support and
development of charter and district non-public schools in New Orleans
through teacher education, leadership, preparation, applied research and
policy in cooperation with Tulane University - $450,000.

. Xavier University, New Orleans, LA - Design and construction for
the Industry Center for Pharmaceutical Bioscience/Biotech Infrastructure -
$400,000.

. Louisiana Association of United Ways, New Orleans, LA - Expansion
of the capacity of the Louisiana 2-1-1 system - $400,000.

. McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA - Provide professional
development to improve student writing - $200,000.

. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge, LA - Expansion of
early detection cancer screenings - $300,000.

. Rapides Parish Police Jury's Office of Economic and Workforce
Development, Alexandria, LA - Workforce development, employer-based training
and education, and work-based training for out-of-school youth - $300,000.

. Mount Sinai, New York, NY - Firefighter and emergency responder
health monitoring program in Louisiana - $400,000.






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