Casey secures $172.5 million for affordable housing, public safety, and infrastructure

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) successfully obtained more than $172 million for projects in Pennsylvania in the latest government funding package, which passed the Senate on March 8, averting a shutdown just hours before the government was set to run out of money.

The funds Casey secured will go toward 142 projects throughout the state, according to his office, including affordable housing projects, infrastructure upgrades, food pantries, and public safety projects.

The Children’s Crisis Treatment Center in Philadelphia, which treats children with psychological injuries, will receive $1.5 million to create a new outpatient mental health clinic.

The New Kensington Community Development Corporation will receive $1 million to create affordable housing for low-income veterans in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The Share Food Program, which helps food banks and community pantries in the Philadelphia area, will receive $500,000 to develop a warehouse in Montgomery County to serve 80,000 people weekly. 

The Food Bank of the State College Area will receive $750,000 for its relocation to a new building that will allow the organization to feed double the number of people that it currently serves. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will receive $850,000 to help preserve the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge in Allegheny County, which is crumbling, with residents telling a local news channel that they hold their breath when they drive over it.

A number of towns are receiving millions in funding to improve their water treatment facilities to ensure residents have safe drinking water. The Tunkhannock Borough Municipal Authority will receive $500,000 to upgrade its water treatment facility for water from its reservoir. The Schuylkill County Municipal Authority will receive $440,000 to construct a backup water main to prevent disruptions to service. 

Some locations are receiving funding to help improve public safety. 

Centre County will receive $2 million to build a new education building where it will train firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and police officers. The Allentown Police Department will receive more than $960,000 to purchase new technology that allows officers to test people for illegal drugs with greater safety. 

“I’m fighting to ensure that when Pennsylvanians send their tax dollars to Washington, Congress invests it right back into their communities,” Casey said in a news release. “Through this bill, I’ve worked to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing Pennsylvanians — from stopping the flow of fentanyl into our Commonwealth, to investing in better roads, bridges, and waterways to spur job creation, to ensuring our veterans receive the benefits they’ve earned.”