U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is pushing for $1.88 million in federal funding for three initiatives in Lancaster County as part of the fiscal year 2023 federal budget.
They are among 75 earmarks that the Democratic senator is proposing statewide. The local projects are:
- City of Lancaster ($500,000): Infrastructure enhancements to separate stormwater runoff from sanitary sewage flows. The project is projected to reduce flows into the Conestoga River by more than 27 million gallons per year.
- Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County ($710,000): Early childhood STEM education.
- United Way of Lancaster County ($670,000): Software enhancements for the 211 referral service. The software, piloted in Lancaster County, would be rolled out to all 67 Pennsylvania counties.
“I am proud to advance this vital funding for projects that will invest in infrastructure, education and career readiness, economic development and environmental protection,” Casey said in a statement.
Last week, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) released his markups of 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2023. The bills total nearly $1.7 trillion, including $850 billion in defense spending, $653 billion in non-defense spending, $119 billion for veterans’ medical care and $21 billion for pandemic preparedness.
The bills can include earmarks for specific community projects, a practice Congress resumed in fiscal year 2022 after abandoning it for a decade. To become law, they must be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president.
Among Casey’s proposed grants is $1.49 million for CASA, a Hispanic community nonprofit, to expand its center in York County. CASA has a small branch office in Lancaster on South Duke Street.
