Pelosi Secures $10.7 Million for San Francisco Bay Area Education and Community Safety

Pelosi Secures $10.7 Million for San Francisco Bay Area Education and Community Safety

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C.â€"House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today announced $10.7 million for the San Francisco Bay Area in H.R. 2862, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2006. The House of Representatives approved the bill today by a vote of 397 to 19.

â€Å"These funds will help reduce violence in the San Francisco Bay Area, provide alternatives for youth, and promote education and environmental stewardship,” Pelosi said. â€Å"I am proud to have worked to secure a federal investment in these projects.”

Pelosi announced the following projects would receive funds:

• $4.5 million for the California Academy of Sciences to support technologies and educational programming for the Morrison Planetarium in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The planetarium will feature a new digital projection system with real-time displays to communicate new discoveries from federally-funded research. The science education outreach programs will serve more than 40 percent of K-12 schools in northern California as well as students from 11 other Western states.
• $800,000 for the City of San Francisco to expand transitional services to inmates recently released from jail or prison to reduce recidivism, help with re-entry into the community, decrease homelessness, and provide access to the City’s emergency health system.
• $450,000 for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office â€Å"Safe Streets Project.” The District Attorney’s office will employ community response networks in the Visitacion Valley and Mission District to reduce youth and gun violence, utilizing prevention-focused practices.
• $400,000 for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Family Reunification Program for Neglected Children. This program aims to prevent juvenile delinquency by developing family reunification and visitation services for abused and neglected children.
• $2.5 million for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary to develop a permanent exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences about the four California marine sanctuaries. The exhibit will feature the protective and cooperative nature of the sanctuaries, which protect marine resources and educate the public on the value of the marine environment.
• $1.5 million for the California Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program. B-WET educates students and teachers about environmental stewardship. The program provides organizations with funds to support environmental education. Pelosi secured a $1.5 million increase over last year’s funding level of $500,000, bringing the FY06 total to $2 million. The additional funds will allow B-WET’s expansion from Monterey Bay to the San Francisco Bay area.

The bill will be sent to the Senate to be voted upon. Once passed by the House and Senate, the bill will go to the President for his signature.