U.S. Congressman Brian Babin submitted the following FY24 Community Project Funding Member requests to the House Committee on Appropriations:
Click each project name to download the Member request form for each project.
Project Name: Baytown Emergency Operations Center
Subcommittee: Homeland Security
Agency/Bureau: Federal Emergency Management Agency
Amount Requested: $2,250,000
Recipient: City of Baytown – 2401 Market Street, Baytown, TX 77522
Request Description: The Baytown Emergency Operations Center first opened in May 2007 as a state-of-the-art facility designed to safely house emergency operations in the midst of Category 4 hurricane winds. Since that time the Emergency Operations Center has provided critical operational coordination and incident management support for the City of Baytown, Harris County, and Chambers County. This includes EOC support to hurricanes, floods, hazardous materials incidents, and various other threats to the safety and security of the region.
The current EOC lacks the capability to support multi-agency response with current equipment, which is limited in the number of workstations available for first responders, private sector partners, and other regional response teams. This project will improve the current EOC by adding vital square footage to the existing structure and upgrading outdated technology and equipment. These essential improvements will expand response and recovery capabilities related to terrorism, cyber security incidents, mass causality/fatality incidents, active shooters, hostile intruders, and other no-notice incidents by enhancing EOC operational coordination capabilities, ensuring communication flow, and improving situational awareness/common operating picture. These improvements will ensure the continued safety and security of the residents in our region.
Project Name: Houston Ship Channel
Subcommittee: Energy & Water
Agency/Bureau: Army Corps of Engineers (Civil)
Amount Requested: $40,000,000
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Southwestern Division and Galveston District – 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, Texas 77550
Request Explanation: It is critical that the Channel remains dredged to its federally authorized and operational depth of 46.5 ft. Since 2019, the HSC has seen a 422% increase in draft restrictions resulting from insufficient operation and maintenance dredging. This request will provide the shortfall in operation and maintenance dollars needed to ensure the channel is not draft-restricted and Americans are able to export and import their cargo efficiently.
Houston is the nation’s top port, handling 50 million more tons of waterborne cargo annually than any other U.S. port; yet, they receive only 18¢ of operations and maintenance (O&M) funding per ton of cargo, less than half the national average of what other ship channels receive. Insufficient O&M dredging has caused unprecedented draft restrictions in Houston. It is estimated that these draft restrictions have disrupted more than $6 billion worth of cargo since 2020, costing more than $375 million to shipping lines; and much more than that to the American consumer.
This Project aligns to support the over $801 billion in national economic impact created by the Houston Ship Channel. Of the over 3.2 million American jobs supported and generated by the Channel, over 75% of them are located in communities with poverty rates above the national average, giving real ladders of opportunity to millions of Americans. Ensuring that the Houston Ship Channel receives this critical funding will bring significant value to the global supply chain, as it will streamline the movement of cargo and enable long-lasting solutions to current supply chain issues.
Project Name: Cedar Bayou
Subcommittee: Energy & Water
Agency/Bureau: Army Corps of Engineers (Civil)
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Southwestern Division and Galveston District – 2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, Texas 77550
Request Explanation: There are two Cedar Bayou projects: Cedar Bayou (Miles 1 to 3) and Cedar Bayou (Miles 3-11). Miles 3-11 are currently undergoing channel improvement. Miles 1-3 however haven't been dredged in a few fiscal cycles, and vessels won't be able to safely transit Miles 3-11 if the authorized dimensions of both projects are not the same.
Maintenance dredging of Cedar Bayou is performed annually by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with federal funds through the appropriations process. The USACE must adequately fund O&M for both segments of Cedar Bayou – Miles 1-3 AND Miles 3-11 – to ensure safe vessel passage and provide transportation cost savings to businesses operating along the channel. The FY2024 President’s Budget includes no funding for operations and maintenance of the Cedar Bayou.
