{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=3F37FE44-44B6-40DF-A690-2E16B8951BDE", "COCHRAN, WICKER ANNOUNCE TUPELO AIRPORT GRANT", "2016-08-19", "2016", "2016-08", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today announced nearly $950,000 in federal grant funding for the Tupelo Regional Airport improvements.   \u00a0  The Tupelo Airport Authority is receiving $948,223, of which $829,179 is from FY2016 appropriated funding provided by Congress for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for airport safety and infrastructure.  \u00a0  \u201cI\u2019m pleased to see the Federal Aviation Administration make this investment in the Tupelo Regional Airport.\u00a0 Continuing improvements at the airport can help increase economic development and connectivity throughout Northeast Mississippi,\u201d Cochran said.  \u00a0  \u201cThese funds represent a commitment by the federal government to improve Tupelo Regional Airport\u2019s existing infrastructure,\u201d Wicker said.\u00a0 \u201cThe FAA grants help to ensure that passengers in North Mississippi continue to have access to affordable, safe air travel.\u201d   \u00a0  The FAA Airport Improvement Program funding for Tupelo will go toward rehabilitation of a taxiway and runway, which could lead to improvements in passenger safety and airport efficiency.\u00a0 The goal of the work is to maintain the structural integrity of the existing taxiway.  \u00a0  Last year, Cochran and Wicker, along with U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) announced a similar $716,779 grant for runway safety improvements, fencing installation and runway rehabilitation at the Tupelo airport.  \u00a0  Many Mississippi airports benefit from this program to help facilities meet FAA operations and safety standards.\r\n###", 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://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=3F37FE44-44B6-40DF-A690-2E16B8951BDE"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7542879320681095, "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"}