{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sablan.house.gov/congress-passes-5-year-highway-bill-increases-nmi-funding", "Congress passes 5-year highway bill, increases NMI funding", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Independent", "Senate", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Transit and safety programs worth $1.2 million annually and an additional $1 million in highway construction funds for the Northern Mariana Islands over the next five years are part of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, passed by both the House and Senate on Thursday, December 3, 2015.\nThe five-year, $305 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill retained a provision, Section 1115, to increase annual funding for the Territorial Highway Program from $40 to $42 million, which the Northern Mariana Islands shares with American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The $2 million increase in annual THP funds was contained in the House reauthorization bill, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act, but not the Senate bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act.\nI am thankful that conferees decided that funding increases, though relatively small, should apply to all areas of our country and not just the states. The measure now heads to the White House, and President Obama is expected to sign shortly.", 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://sablan.house.gov/congress-passes-5-year-highway-bill-increases-nmi-funding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1818688362836838, "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"}