{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=304", "Hyde-Smith & Ezell Announce $365,000 Grant to Help Establish Nonstop Miss. Gulf Coast\u2013Washington, D.C. Flights", "2023-09-27", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Mike Ezell", "E000235", "ezell.house.gov", "ezell", "https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and U.S. Representative Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) today announced a $365,000 grant to the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority to embark on a process to establish a nonstop flight service to a Washington, D.C.-area airport.\n\nHyde-Smith and Ezell wrote letters of support for the airport authority\u2019s applications for a FY2022 Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) grants. The FY2022 award will support the airport authority\u2019s goal to attract a nonstop route to the Washington region in order to support primary economic drivers in South Mississippi, including the defense and space industries.\n\n\u201cThere are enough federal interests on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to warrant direct flights to Washington, D.C., which we know is the is the top origination and destination market that is not served by a nonstop passenger service,\u201d said Hyde-Smith, ranking Republican on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that funds SCASDP. \u201cI think this is an exciting proposition that would benefit the overall defense and space presence in South Mississippi, and boost the overall economy.\u201d\n\n\u201cSouth Mississippi\u2019s role in strengthening America\u2019s national defense and innovating in space exploration makes a direct flight to Washington, D.C. a necessity,\u201d said Ezell, a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. \u201cI am grateful for the airport authority\u2019s work to pursue this project, and I look forward to continuing to support this effort and the economic boosts it will bring to our Mississippi Gulf Coast.\u201d\n\nThe grant to the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport Authority provides it with a revenue guarantee to cover recruitment fees and associated marketing plan to recruit, initiate and support new passenger air service between the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and the nation\u2019s capital.\n\nHyde-Smith and Ezell supported the airport authority\u2019s application preference to establish nonstop flights to Washington Reagan National Airport as the best option to serve Keesler Air Force Base, Naval Construction Battalion, the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center, Huntington Ingalls and other shipbuilders, and NASA\u2019s John C. Stennis Space Center, and other associated federal agencies and contractors.\n\nThe SCASDP grant program is designed to help small communities address air service and airfare issues, including air service deficiencies and propose an appropriate solution.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "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://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=304"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.166993984952569, "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"}