{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-says-troubling-report-increases-urgency-for-regional-strategy-to", "Norton Says Troubling Report Increases Urgency for Regional Strategy to Secure Funding for a New Arlington Memorial Bridge", "2016-03-03", "2016", "2016-03", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today said that the national capital region\u2019s members, including not only House Members, but especially its four Senators, must devise a joint strategy to secure funding to fully replace the Arlington Memorial Bridge after a recent Federal Highway Administration inspection found that the bridge will need a major overhaul or be forced to close in 2021.\u00a0 Norton said that last year\u2019s surface five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill provides the National Park Service (NPS), which owns and operates Memorial Bridge, with $268 million for 2016 for all of NPS\u2019 transportation needs across the nation, but that amount would barely cover the estimated $250 million it will cost to rebuild the Memorial Bridge.\u00a0 The new transportation bill initially contained no increase in funding from 10 years ago, but Norton and other Members got a small increase by reducing the length of the reauthorization from six years to five years.\u00a0 Norton said that regional members of the House and Senate will need to work together to help NPS secure funding from the $800 million available annually through the new Nationally Significant Fright and Highway Projects competition grant program, which Norton got included in the surface transportation bill.\u00a0 She said NPS could use that grant funding to cover up to 80% of the estimated $250 million it will cost to repair Memorial Bridge.\u00a0 Norton said in light of the need for a new bridge, it would be a waste to fund another emergency interim strategy or to incrementally rebuild the bridge over multiple phases.\n\u201cAt this point, nothing short of a coordinated regional strategy to rebuild Memorial Bridge is feasible,\u201d Norton said.\u00a0 \u201cIf we do not act now, we are seeing the beginning of the end for Memorial Bridge, which is dissolving in plain sight into the Potomac River.\u00a0 This bridge, more than any other, is not just a regional bridge.\u00a0 It is the gateway to our nation\u2019s capital from Virginia and the South, and was once a symbol of our nation\u2019s strength.\u00a0 The region needs to work with NPS to ensure it applies for the competitive grant funding for which Memorial Bridge appears to qualify.\u201d\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": ["http://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-says-troubling-report-increases-urgency-for-regional-strategy-to"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8630148842930794, "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"}