{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://lowenthal.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398552", "Congressman Lowenthal Helps Secure $7.74 in Funding to Keep Queensway Bay Channel Open", "2014-12-12", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Alan Lowenthal", "L000579", "lowenthal.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Alan Lowenthal has helped secure an additional $7.74 million for much-needed dredging of the Queensway Bay channel, which sits at the mouth of the Los Angeles River in Long Beach. The funding is in addition to more than $5 million already secured by the Congressman and the City of Long Beach for initial dredging work, which is set to begin soon. \u00a0All told, the combined funding will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to completely clear a full navigable channel by removing years of sediment build-up from the frequent silting that occurs as debris and sediment flows down and out of the L.A. River. \u201cThe Queensway Bay channel is a key waterway in our area and keeping it open is critical to the thousands of recreational boaters who rely on it each year,\u201d Congressman Lowenthal said.  Silting in the Queensway Bay channel can negatively impact navigation for vessels launching from Long Beach\u2019s South Shore Launch Ramp, located in the channel. Nearly 10,000 vessels launch from this ramp per year and require a clear channel to safely maneuver, and 600,000 people rely on the channel for transportation and tourism each year.\r\nDredging must be completed every three to five years to keep the channel clear, but due to the fact that that maintenance dredging was not kept up, the channel has been in danger of silting to the point of becoming impassible by marine craft.\r\n\"The City of\u00a0Long Beach is thrilled to see that through the leadership provided by Congressman Lowenthal, Congress has passed a budget bill that includes $7.7 million for dredging the federal channel in the Los Angeles River Estuary in 2015,\" says Mayor Robert Garcia. \u00a0\"The City and Congressman Lowenthal have been working closely together over the past two years to ensure\u00a0that sufficient federal funds are\u00a0invested in maintaining navigability in\u00a0the federal channel.\u00a0 This\u00a0is a safety matter, and also\u00a0a matter of\u00a0economic importance, as the federal\u00a0channel is the\u00a0only\u00a0path of travel between Catalina Island and Long Beach.\"\r\nThe funding was included in Congress\u2019s fiscal year 2015 funding package as part of a request by the Congressman and the City of Long Beach. The House today passed and sent the \u201cCRomnibus\u201d funding package to the Senate, which is expected to soon pass and send to the President\u2019s desk for his signature. The funds will then become available to the Army Corps.  \u201cI am proud to have worked diligently with appropriators, The U.S. Army Corps, the City of Long Beach, and the City of Avalon to secure funding for the Army Corps to complete dredging of the channel, and I want to thank each of them for helping to make this happen,\u201d Congressman Lowenthal said.\r\n  \r\nThe Queensway Bay channel serves as an important link between Long Beach and Catalina Island. Over 600,000 total passengers travel through this passage every year, making ferry service between Catalina Island and Long Beach, the second most used ferry system in California.\r\nThe commuter ferries to Catalina Island alone provide a significant economic benefit to both the Southern California region and Catalina Island. Any service interruption between Long Beach and Avalon has an immediate negative economic impact on both communities, as well as creating an undue hardship for commuters and Catalina residents.\r\nThe House passed the funding bill, H.R. 83, by a vote of 219 to 206. Congressman Lowenthal voted 'no' on the bill in its final form.\r\n\u201cUltimately, I decided to vote \u2018no\u2019 on the bill despite my hard work and support on many items contained within it, including the dredging funds. Last minute additions to the bill such as attacks on the Dodd-Frank consumer financial protections and a dangerous expansion of campaign contribution limits to unheard of levels made it impossible for me to vote \u2018yes\u2019 with a clear conscience. I believe these additions to the bill will hurt people in the 47th District more than the rest of the bill will help them,\u201d Congressman Lowenthal said.", 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": ["http://lowenthal.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398552"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3407999649643898, "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"}