News from Senator Carl Levin of Michigan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 1999
Contact: Senator Levin's Office
Phone: 202.224.6221

Levin Announces Funding for Michigan Airports, Muskegon Coast Guard Helicopter Station

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced today that Michigan airports and buses will get a boost from the Appropriations Bill for the Department of Transportation, which the Senate approved this afternoon. Additionally, Levin helped to secure funding for the Muskegon Coast Guard helicopter station for the next fiscal year.

"The Coast Guard decided to locate its air facility in Muskegon because of the many financial and logistical benefits of the site, so the proposal to close the facility didn't seem to make sense," Levin said. "I've fought to keep the facility open, and am pleased that we were able to secure funding to keep it operable for the next year. We'll continue to fight for the base."

In a proposed FY 2000 budget which was released earlier this year, the Coast Guard indicated it would close the Muskegon seasonal air facility and move the facility to another location in southern Lake Michigan. Members of the Michigan delegation argued, however, that the Coast Guard selected Muskegon among many communities at the time of its opening because it offered the best location at the lowest cost to the American taxpayers. The Muskegon facility opened in the spring of 1997.

The FY 2000 Transportation Appropriations Bill also includes millions of dollars in funding for Michigan airports, bus systems and Great Lakes vessels. Specifically, the bill appropriates funding for the following:

  • $3.1 million to continue operations of Coast Guard air facility in Muskegon Michigan (also includes funding for facility on Long Island)

  • $13 million to replace the Mackinaw icebreaker on the Great Lakes

  • $100,000 for the acquisition of ice rescue equipment at the St. Clair Lake Coast Guard Station

  • $500,000 for instrument landing system at Harry Brown Airport

  • $600,000 for replacement of air control tower and terminal facility at Pontiac Airport

  • $3.9 million for Detroit bus transfer terminal facilities

  • $287,000 for Detroit bus EZ Ride Program

  • $250,000 for Menominee-Delta-Schoolcraft buses

  • $22.5 million for Michigan buses statewide

  • $2 million for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) grants for Southeast Michigan

  • $1 million each in ITS grants for Oakland and Wayne Counties

  • $12 million for the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation

  • $3.5 million to continue the National Ballast Water Management Program

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