US House OKs $$ for PWC health dept. and climate change projects at Rep. Connolly’s request

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who represents part of Prince William County and Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, announced that $1.75 million for two Prince William County projects were included in his Community Project Funding (CPF) requests in the FY 2022 omnibus appropriations package, which passed the House March 9 and now heads to the Senate. 

The House Committee on Appropriations solicited no more than ten requests from each member of Congress and ultimately accepted eight funding requests from Congressman Connolly, totaling more than $11,879,000 in direct funds for Virginia’s 11th District.

The Prince William projects are:

• Project: Prince William Health District Transition Initiative
Recipient: Prince William County Government
Amount: $800,000
Background: Most health departments throughout Virginia are administered by the state. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the inability of the state-managed Prince William local health district to meet the specific needs of this second largest local jurisdiction and largest majority minority community in the state – Prince William County. The Commonwealth of Virginia has granted the County the authority to operate a local health department. This project would help train the staff of the new local health department administered by Prince William County on the systems, competencies, frameworks, relationships, and resources that enable public health agencies to perform their core functions and essential services.

• Project: Community Climate Change Impact Analysis
Recipient: Prince William County Government
Amount: $950,000
Background: This project will prepare Prince William County for future impacts due to climate change. The first part will be to develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions, increase use of renewable energy, and provide sustainability resources within the community to address the harmful impacts of climate change. The analysis will be used to develop long term plans to meet goals set by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Prince William Board of County Supervisor for reducing carbon and increasing the use of renewable energy. The second part will address increased flooding potential in the community. A study will be conducted to identify high risk flood areas based on historic, current, and projected storm/rainfall trends, with recommendations for mitigation and adaptation strategies. A review and incorporation of increases in intense rain events due to climate change will be included in the study. Many of the areas in high-risk flood areas are in lower income and minority communities. This study will also address and include issues of environmental and social justice, and the equity of programs to reduce flood risk in the community.

“I was proud to secure the funding for these community projects, totaling nearly $12 million for Fairfax and Prince William counties,” said Connolly. “These projects reflect the shared priorities of local leaders, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing these dollars in action for the people of Northern Virginia. This funding will be put toward critical efforts to bolster Northern Virginia’s response to climate change, expand affordable housing initiatives, invest in workforce development and training, and more.”

Two projects for George Mason University were also included:

• Project: Learning Laboratory for Social & Population Health
Recipient: George Mason University
Amount: $1,150,000
Background: This interprofessional learning lab will improve health care for communities and ensure students have improved competencies upon graduation. The learning lab will allow students to design and implement demonstration projects that generate innovative community-based healthcare models and fuel students’ understanding of population health improvement for communities. The centerpiece will be the launch of a Summer Immersion Institute (SII) for 96 students. The SII curriculum will focus on building students’ capacity to address social health for communities and ensure access to care for marginalized communities in Fairfax County, especially for communities who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Project: Virginia Climate Center
Recipient: George Mason University
Amount: $1,979,000
Background: This project would establish the Virginia Climate Center to serve as a climate extension service to help communities in the Commonwealth increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. This project will establish the Center in partnership with the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. The Center will provide products and services to Virginia firms and municipalities to adopt climate risk prevention and mitigation strategies for sustainable entrepreneurship, enhanced profitability, and wise resource management. Local decision makers will gain access to an unprecedented range of observational data, environmental models, and experts in climate science, sustainability, and engineering solutions. The Center’s data-driven decision support will save tax dollars and improve the livelihoods of Virginians, increasing resilience to severe weather, air pollution, drought and floods, with an emphasis on the underprivileged communities that are most susceptible to adverse effects of climate change.