Missouri, Illinois get $244M in earmarks
St. Louis Business Journal
December 16, 2009
John Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center in midtown St. Louis will receive $43.3 million in federal funding to help build a 262,000-square-foot patient tower.
This is the largest St. Louis-area project included in the $447 billion fiscal 2010 spending bill the U.S. Senate passed Sunday. U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., pushed to include $118 million in earmarks for Missouri projects. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who opposes earmarks, was one of three Democrats to vote against it.
Illinois received $126 million in earmarks in the spending bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law.
As part of the bill, John Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center also will receive $19.7 million to expand the 331-acre National Cemetery at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. Earlier this year, St. Louis' veterans hospitals received $10 million in federal stimulus money for several projects, including a renovation of John Cochran's outpatient clinics and a road upgrade at the cemetery.
Other St. Louis-area projects getting funding are:
- $7.4 million for a new aeromedical evacuation facility at Scott Air Force Base to replace the current 50-year-old one.
- $3 million for the St. Louis County Economic Council to build the Wellston Developmental Child Care Center, which will provide low- and moderate-income families with child care services.
- $2 million for the St. Louis University for the Center for Aviation Safety Research to provide job task analysis, curriculum development, knowledge and skills training to improve aviation safety and develop an aviation maintenance work force.
- $1.15 million to the Bi-State Development Agency in St. Louis to build a new downtown Metro Bus transfer center.
- $1 million for SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis to help create a hybrid cardiac catheterization suite for pediatric heart interventions.
- $1 million for Northside Community Housing Inc. to renovate affordable housing in St. Louis' Ville neighborhood.
- $750,000 for the University of Missouri-Columbia to build the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders to meet the growing needs of children living with autism.
- $600,000 for St. Louis Community College for the BioBench and Training Facility, 10,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space at the new Danforth Center North 8 facility to provide specialized career and technical training for students interested in careers in life sciences.
- $500,000 for the Midwest China Hub Commission in St. Louis to help establish a Chinese freight airline hub.
- $225,000 for the St. Louis Art Museum Foundation in St. Louis for the restoration and reinstallation of exhibits.
