{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-castro-celebrates-268-million-grant-for-via-funded-by-the-infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act", "Congressman Castro Celebrates $268 Million Grant for VIA Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act", "2024-12-19", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Joaquin Castro", "C001091", "castro.house.gov", "castro", "https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) released the following statement to celebrate a $268 million grant he secured from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support the VIA Green Line project \u2013 the first Advanced Rapid Transit corridor in the region, which is expected to deliver convenient, high-frequency service by late 2027.\n\n\u201cOver the last four years, Democrats in Congress and the White House have invested billions of dollars to build the great infrastructure that San Antonio deserves. This grant \u2013 which is one of the largest investments in public transit in South Texas \u2013 will make huge strides to reduce traffic and congestion, improve our air quality, and help San Antonians get where they need to go. My office was proud to help VIA make the case for this funding, and I\u2019m excited to see the benefits that the new Advanced Rapid Transit corridor will bring to San Antonio,\u201d said Congressman Joaquin Castro.\n\n\u201cI want to thank Congressman Castro for his steadfast support of VIA Metropolitan Transit. His work was instrumental in finalizing and signing the Capital Investment Grant with the Federal Transit Administration. The VIA Rapid Green Line will revolutionize transit in San Antonio and Bexar County,\u201d said Jeff Arndt, President & CEO VIA Metropolitan Transit.\n\nIn 2021, Congressman Castro voted for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to fund major transit projects, including San Antonio\u2019s Green Line project. Over the last several years, he has led several letters of support to the Federal Transit Administration to advocate for additional resources to support VIA\u2019s expansion in the San Antonio area.\n\nAs part of his efforts to support public transit investments in San Antonio, Congressman Castro has also led Congressional efforts to secure annual appropriations for the FTA Capital Investment Grants Program, commonly known as New Starts, Small Starts, and Core Capacity, to support the projects under construction or in the CIG pipeline, with a special focus on resources for VIA\u2019s ART North/South corridor and ART East/West corridor. On Wednesday, his office joined leaders from the FTA and VIA for a signing ceremony to formalize the $268 million grant announcement.\n\nThe Green Line project is designed to improve transportation options for the nearly 54,000 residents and 108,000 jobs located in the 10.35-mile corridor. The grant represents the largest federal investment in VIA\u2019s history. The project will connect riders from the San Antonio International Airport, through Downtown, and south to the historic Missions area.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-castro-celebrates-268-million-grant-for-via-funded-by-the-infrastructure-investment-and-jobs-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4828809071332216, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}