Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman today praised the Senate’s final adoption of the fiscal year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill.  Working with Senate colleagues on the appropriations committee, Dodd and Lieberman successfully secured almost $5.3 million for a variety of initiatives aimed at improving health care, education, employment, and the arts in Connecticut.  The bill invests $150 million in education, college affordability, health care, biomedical research, and job training across the country. 

“The funding provided by this bill helps seed important projects that ultimately will bear fruit in years to come,” said Dodd.  “It helps provide needed resources to ultimately strengthen and improve the quality of life for people and families in the state of Connecticut and across the nation.  Providing the residents of Connecticut with quality health care, education, and access to the arts is something we can all agree on.  I hope President Bush shares this view and will not prevent this important bill from becoming law.”

“These federal dollars reflect the critical needs of Connecticut residents, said Lieberman.  “I am proud to support funding for educational programs, hospitals, and health care providers across our state.  I urge the President to sign this important bill into law.”

Federal funding totals for Connecticut initiatives in the Labor-Health and Human Services conference report, all of which will be used in conjunction with other non-Federal public or private resources, are as follows:

• Action for Bridgeport Community Development in Bridgeport, CT - $500,000 for the development on an innovative learning model for application in Bridgeport Public Schools;

• Amistad America in New Haven, CT - $250,000 for the development of educational initiatives associated with the Atlantic Freedom Tour;

• Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, CT - $250,000 for manufacturing technology programs, which may include training and equipment;

• Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, CT - $350,000 to complete the expansion and reorganization of the Emergency Department;

• The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford, CT - $100,000 for the expansion of the Arts-In-Education Community Engagement Program in Greater Hartford;

• Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies in Wethersfield, CT - $340,000 for services and administrative activities associated with the successful Empowering People for Success Initiative;

• Connecticut Historical Society Museum in Hartford, CT - $100,000 for educational programs and interactive school programs at the Old State House;

• Connecticut State University in Hartford, CT - $340,000 for expanded educational initiatives at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut, that seek to reduce the shortage of Registered Nurses in the State of Connecticut and elsewhere;

• Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven in Woodbridge, CT - $150,000 to develop, test, evaluate, and disseminate an innovative community based approach to caregiver support services

• Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain, CT - $340,000 for the acquisition and implementation of new computer technology associated with the Klingberg Family Centers’ Special Education Enhancement Initiative;

• Manchester Memorial Hospital in Manchester, CT - $300,000 for necessary renovations to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit;

• Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford, CT - $500,000 to expand the "Youth Business Initiative" -- a service provided to young people between 14 and 24 years of age that places them in youth-friendly after-school work experiences, such as youth newspapers, multimedia arts production, and woodworking;

• Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford, CT - $210,000 for social outreach services specifically designed to assist grandparents raising teenagers;

• Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, CT - $550,000 for the transformation of vacant space into space designed for inpatient medical or surgical use;

• Saint Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, CT - $425,000 to increase the capacity and redundancy of the hospital’s emergency generation system;

• Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT - $375,000 for an emergency department rehabilitation and expansion initiative; and

• City of Waterbury, CT - $200,000 for a municipal health access initiative.