Grace's Record

During her first term in office, the Congresswoman has been pleased to work on a number of issues for her constituents. Below are some of her major accomplishments that affect the lives and well-being of her constituents.

Water Issues:

·         Gained Congressional support for the effort to maintain the safety of drinking water for 16 million Southern Californians by the removal of a 10.5 million ton uranium tailings pile on the banks of the Colorado River near Moab, Utah. The pile is currently leaking about 57,700 gallons of radioactive uranium and other toxins per day into the Colorado River which eventually flows into southern California. The Congresswoman will be monitoring the waste removal process to be conducted by the Department of Energy in an effort to ensure that the cleanup process will be conducted in a timely manner.

• Groundwater cleanup in Central Basin and San Gabriel Basin -- $25 million
  Worked with other area representatives to help secure funds in FY 2001 for groundwater cleanup in San Gabriel and Central Basins. The San Gabriel Basin aquifers, which supply drinking water to 1.4 million people, have been known to be contaminated with volatile organic compounds since 1979. In the past three years, perchlorate and other dangerous chemicals related to rocket fuels have also been found in the water. Additionally, volatile organic compounds have seeped from the San Gabriel Basin into the Central Basin - a large groundwater system that provides water for 1.5 million people from Montebello and Pico Rivera to Long Beach.

Adolescent Mental Health

·         Raised awareness of the severity of the suicide problem among Latina adolescents. (Research has shown that nearly one in three Latina adolescent has seriously considered suicide -the highest rate for any racial or ethnic group in the country.)

·         Secured $680,000 in the FY2001 budget to establish a model, school-based mental health services initiative for Latina adolescents in Southeast LA County.

·         Introduced legislation (HR 4439) to establish the comprehensive, $30 million "Latina Adolescent Suicide Prevention Act" for community efforts to stem suicide through school-based programs.

Government Procurement & Contract Bundling

·         Championed small business federal contract bundling issues leading to an Executive Order directing federal agencies to fulfill their contracting commitment to minority small businesses. The 34th District includes one of the largest concentrations of manufacturing and light industrial small businesses in the Los Angeles County region.

·         MAJOR GRANT SUCCESSES:

o        $2.8 million for The "Technical Skills Training Grant" from the Department of Labor to a L.A. consortium headed by the Gateway Cities Partnership and local educational institutions addresses the high unemployment rate in many communities in the 34th district and surrounding communities. The program will train workers for jobs in the high-wage, high tech industry, specifically machinists and computer numerical control programmer specialists. Approximately 800-1,000 workers are expected to be trained.

o        $1.6 million to assist the cities of Industry, and El Monte to initiate the cleanup of contaminated groundwater. The Bureau's grant money will allow the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority to begin designing the groundwater cleanup project for the Puente Valley Operable Unit.

o        $300,000, from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations grant to Central Basin Municipal Water Districts for its Ultra-Low Flush Toilet Distribution Program. The grant will allow the Central Basin MWD to continue providing free low-flush toilets to lower income residents, recycle old toilets into usable construction materials, and give residents lower water bills while saving over 600 million gallons of water per year.

o        $530,000 from the U.S. Education Department to Montebello Unified School District for the "21st Century Community Learning Centers." Montebello USD will receive approximately $530,000 annually over three years to serve 3,079 students (K-8) and 1,575 community members with after school, weekend, and summer activities in three inner city schools. The priority of the program is to raise student achievement in the core academic areas.

• Additional Congressional Funds for 34th District

o        Northrop Infrastructure Improvements (Pico Rivera)
$ 4 million to fund improvements to the Northrop Grumman B-2 site, located in Pico Rivera to accelerate economic reuse of this soon-to-be vacated site and create needed employment

o        San Gabriel Basin Demonstration Projects
$2 million to improve water quality in the San Gabriel Basin and allow the Basin to be fully utilized for water storage.

o        Norwalk Transit Facility/Buena Park Center
$2.5 million for general improvements to rail and bus transit services intended to provide greater system integration and relieve demand on the I-5.

o        MTOC Bus Replacements/additions
$7 million to provide funds for 37 buses, 15 of which are alternative fuels, in addition to the clean diesel buses, and one CNG fueling facility

o        Foothills Transit Bus Replacements
$5.5 million for bus fleet replacements (66 buses), bus expansion (20 buses) and 2 HEV buses

o        Norwalk Adult Day Care Center
$40,000 for coordination, management, supportive services and other health care for elderly individuals afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease.

o        Alameda Corridor East (ACE)
$1.5 million for construction of the Nogales Grade Separation in the City of Industry.

o        Norwalk Aquatic Center
$50,000 for renovation of the City's only public pool including replacement of the deteriorated filtration system and locker facilities.

o        Gateway Cities COG
$1.2 million for completion of Phase 2 of the Truck Impacted Intersections Program and develop a comprehensive Diesel Emissions Reduction Program to reduce diesel emissions in the 27-city subregion and significantly improve the environment

Representative Grace Napolitano, 34th District of California 1609 Longworth Building, Washington, DC 20515    Phone 202-225-5256       Fax 202-225-0027 This is an official Web site of the United States House of Representatives.