Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) voted to fund nearly $100 million in Delaware projects, $23,662,500 of which she previously secured for Delaware through the Community Project Funding process. This funding, included in the appropriations government funding package, responds directly to some of the most pressing needs in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties.

These projects were part of a robust, bipartisan, year-long process in which Blunt Rochester’s office received over 150 applications for funding. Each House Member was permitted to submit only 10 applications to the House Committee on Appropriations for consideration. Blunt Rochester was able to ensure that 8 of these applications made it into the final appropriations package, passed today. 

“I am incredibly pleased to vote to fund the government and to fund nearly $100 million worth of projects back home in Delaware,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said. “ I am proud to have fought for funding that will make our communities healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient. These investments support under-resourced areas and foster economic development, making a real difference in the lives of so many Delawareans.”

Rep. Blunt Rochester championed funding for projects that will directly benefit Delawareans. These include:

 Investing in the Delaware National Guard

•  $17,500,000 to provide a critical fuel cell and corrosion control hangar for the Delaware National Guard in New Castle. 

Preserving our Shared History

• $100,000 to the Richard Allen Coalition to provide much-needed repairs to the historic Richard Allen Historic School, a landmark designated by the Delaware Public Archives that serves as a bipartisan, multiracial source of community pride.

Investing in Delaware Agriculture Now, and For Generations to Come 

• $937,500 for Agricultural Programming Building at the Delaware State Fair in Harrington, benefiting the State Fair and local organization like FFA and 4H. 

Keeping our Communities Safe

• $1,900,000 for the Statewide Violence Reduction Project to fund evidence-based violence intervention programs.
•  $1,600,000 for a Statewide Body-Worn Camera Project, will help provide the necessary resources for Delaware to be the first state in the nation to have every law enforcement officer equipped with a body-worn camera.

Fostering Economic Development 

• $1,000,000 for the Center for Urban Revitalization and Entrepreneurship to promote small business incubators in Kent County run by Delaware State University.

Keeping Delaware Healthy

• $275,000 to provide telehealth access for rural and underserved communities across Delaware to the Delaware Division of Public Libraries.
•  $350,000 to outfit a mobile health clinic and to help address health disparities in disadvantaged communities within Western Sussex County operated by Tidalhealth Nanticoke.

The twelve-bill government funding package will help middle-class families with the cost of living, create American jobs, supports the vulnerable, and works to help small businesses key to our economic future. Taken together, the funding for Delaware and the funding increases for critical government programs will reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities and strengthen our nation.

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