Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer (D-AL) announced that his House Appropriations Committee approved a Fiscal Year 2004 VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill last night that is good news for North Alabama.  Congressman Cramer serves on the House VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee.

"I was proud to support this strong bill last night," said Cramer.  "It not only provides crucial funding for some very important federal agencies, but also takes care of folks back home in North Alabama.  I worked hard to secure funding for important projects that will make our region an even better place to live and work.  This is just the beginning of the FY04 Appropriations process, but I'm glad the Committee has made such a strong commitment to the people of North Alabama."

The bill includes $500,000 for Hartselle Utilities to assist with sanitary sewer rehabilitation in the City of Hartselle as well as $100,000 for the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority for its ongoing program to improve the water infrastructure and provide high-quality potable water to the residents of Morgan and Lawrence Counties.  Additionally, Lawrence County will receive $700,000 through this bill to help construct a wastewater treatment facility and $100,000 for the ongoing Bankhead Forest Water project, which will help supply residents within the forest boundary with safe and quality potable water.

"I take our water and sewer issues seriously," continued Cramer.  "We've got to have good infrastructure for businesses to seriously look at locating here in North Alabama.  Access to a quality, safe water supply is important for our standard of living, and the people in our area deserve to have high-quality drinking water."

The VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee has oversight of NASA's budget, which would receive $15.54 billion through this bill, an increase of over $200 million from last year.  Cramer noted, "We always work in my Subcommittee to make sure we're providing the resources NASA needs, especially following the Columbia tragedy and with the Gehman Commission scheduled to make its final report in August.  The Committee has decided to readdress NASA's budget needs after NASA has determined how best to implement the board's findings."