{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://herrerabeutler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398764", "Sen. Murray and Rep. Herrera Beutler Announce Investments for Longview and Clark County to Strengthen Public Transportation Systems", "2016-09-07", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Jaime Herrera Beutler", "H001056", "herrerabeutler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R- Southwest WA) announced three major Federal Transit Administration investments in Longview and Clark County\u2019s public transportation systems made possible by Senator Murray and Rep. Herrera Beutler\u2019s work to restore and fund the Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program in last year\u2019s transportation bill.\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R- Southwest WA) announced three major Federal Transit Administration investments in Longview and Clark County\u2019s public transportation systems made possible by Senator Murray and Rep. Herrera Beutler\u2019s work to restore and fund the Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program in last year\u2019s transportation bill. RiverCities Transit, which serves Longview and Kelso, will receive grants to purchase two new biodiesel buses and to expand the Downtown Longview Transit Center. The other will go to C-Tran in Clark County for ten new hybrid buses, which will provide more efficient public transportation and support increased ridership.\r\nBoth Murray and Herrera Beutler strongly supported the applications to expand transportation options in Southwest Washington. Senator Murray wrote letters in support of RiverCities Transit\u2019s application for two new biodiesel buses, and its application for the Downtown Longview Transit Center Expansion Project. In the House, Congresswoman Herrera Beutler led the effort to restore the Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Grant Program when she successfully championed an amendment to the transportation bill in November 2015. Herrera Beutler\u2019s efforts influenced the final House-Senate transportation bill agreement which included an additional $1.5 billion for which Southwest Washington transit agencies competed to improve bus services for Washington transit commuters.\r\n\u201cOur communities rely upon safe, reliable public transportation systems, and as ridership continues to increase and technology improves our transportation options, it is critical we fight to invest in aging transit systems,\u201d Senator Murray said. \u201cI am so glad to see the City of Longview and Clark County receive recognition for their strong transit plans and receive these federal investments to lessen the environmental impact, ease congestion, and support Southwest Washington\u2019s continued growth.\u201d\r\n\u201cIt is great to see Clark County and the City of Longview receive grant funds to improve service for bus riders in Longview and throughout Clark County,\u201d said Congresswoman Herrera Beutler. \u201cSo many folks here depend on efficient and convenient bus services, which is why I fought so hard to return hardworking taxpayer dollars back to Southwest Washington for these bus improvement grants.\u201d\r\n\"Washington State's Congressional delegation was instrumental in passing new transportation funding this year and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and Senator Patty Murray\u2019s leadership to increase funding for the bus and bus facilities program certainly aided further in making this grant award possible,\" said Jeff Hamm, Executive Director/CEO of C-Tran.\r\n\u201cThe City of Longview continues to take significant strides to improve RiverCities Transit service throughout the community and revitalize our downtown,\u201d said Longview Mayor Don Jensen. \u201cWe are thrilled that FTA has recognized our vision and awarded the City over $3.6 million to improve our Downtown Transit Center and purchase two biodiesel buses. The help and support from Sen. Murray and Rep. Herrera Beutler was instrumental in getting this award for a couple reasons. First, they both championed restoration of the bus grant program in the 2015 FAST Act which allows small and mid-sized communities like Longview to compete for federal funds. Second, they strongly supported our grant request in Washington, DC and wrote letters to FTA endorsing the projects. We are grateful for the support and look forward to bringing these critical transportation and economic development resources to our community.\u201d\r\nMore information on the three investments are below:\r\nGrant Recipient: City of Longview (RiverCities Transit)  \r\nTitle: Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Program  \r\nGrant Amount: $2,784,000.00  \r\n\u2022         Grant will help expand an existing transit center located in the City of Longview\u2019s downtown area, and increase capacity by providing additional space for staff and improving public access to bus facilities.Grant Recipient: City of Longview (RiverCities Transit)  \r\nTitle: Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Program  \r\nDisc. Grant Amount: $832,000.00  \r\n\u2022         Grant will replace two of the oldest biodiesel buses in the fleet with two new biodiesel buses, and will help reduce service disruptions.Grant Recipient: Clark County Public Transportation Benefit Area (C-Tran)  \r\nTitle: Bus and Bus Facilities Competitive Program  \r\nDisc. Grant Amount: $6,080,000.00  \r\n\u2022         Grant will purchase ten hybrid buses that will help save money in fuel and maintenance costs.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://herrerabeutler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398764"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8927672170102596, "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"}