Chet Edwards For Congress - Madison County

Working Hard for Madison County

Kat — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:46:17 -0700

Working Hard for Madison County

In 2007, Chet secured $117,000 to replace the roof at St. Joseph's Hospital in Madisonville. And, as a member of the Rural Health Care Coalition, Chet is working to protect rural hospitals from hurtful budget cuts.

Chet secured $100,000 to install lighting at Madisonville’s athletic fields, so the facilities can be used for Little League games and other community activities in the evenings. As the father of two young sons, Chet strongly supports projects that encourage children to be active outdoors.

Chet is fighting to save vocational education funding and opposes taking tax dollars away from public schools to subsidize wealthy private schools.

Chet supports legislation that will bring affordable high-speed Internet access to our rural communities.

City, hospital receive federal funds for repairs

econnor — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:11:31 -0700

Wednesday, January 02, 2008
City, hospital receive federal funds for repairs

Madisonville Meteor
By Dave Lewis | Meteor staff writer

Madison County residents will be seeing visible proof of their tax dollars at work this coming year with federal funds coming here to help repair the roof at Madison St. Joseph Health Center and to resurface Collard Street.

According to an announcement Thursday, Dec. 27, from the office of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, $117,000 has been earmarked to renovate the roof and emergency room at Madison St. Joseph, a 57-year-old non-profit facility.

The hospital here has seen the number of emergency room visits increase by nearly 40 percent in recent years in what has been designated a Health Professional Shortage Area and a Medically Underserved Area by the federal government.

Funding for both the hospital and Collard Street comes from the final 2008 appropriations bill, which passed both the U.S. House and Senate earlier in December and was signed by President George W. Bush on Dec. 26.

“I am pleased that my colleagues in the Congress approved my request to help relocate the emergency room for the St. Joseph's Hospital in Madisonville, and I especially want to commend Madisonville community leaders for stressing the importance of this priority project to me,” said Edwards, who is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.

The Collard Street project was earmarked for $169,000, which will help repair potholes and broken curbs on one of the town's major east-west feeder streets.

“Improving roads,” said Edwards, “is important for future economic growth and the quality of life in Madisonville. I want to thank Madisonville city leaders for recommending this important project to me.”

Madisonville Mayor Sonny Dean said receipt of the news was “fantastic.”

Interim city manager Dave Ward said, “We're going to rebuild Collard street, not just fix potholes. I'm not 100 percent sure how much of Collard Street we can repair. We'll probably have enough to go from S.H. 75 to S.H. 21 and widen it a bit to make it more conducive to two-way traffic and put a good surface on it rather than seal coat.

“I'm going to get bids to hot mix (asphalt). That is what I hope we'd be able to do to it. It's a very busy street and needs to be widened a good 18-24 inches. I wish we would have enough to go the full length, but I just don't think $196,000 will go all the way.

“I will assure you the west side of Collard to North Madison that has been a problem area will be fixed. That's one of the busiest intersections in town.”

Brazos Valley tallies $41 million in earmarks

econnor — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:09:42 -0700

Saturday, December 29, 2007

BV tallies $41 million in earmarks

The Bryan College Station Eagle

By JANET PHELPS |Eagle Staff Writer

More than $41 million will be poured into Brazos Valley projects next year, thanks to earmarks by U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.

President Bush criticized special project money as "wasteful government spending" when he signed the $555 billion bill Wednesday that funds the Iraq war into 2008 and keeps government agencies running through September.

The money will go to 16 projects in Brazos, Robertson, Madison and Grimes counties. The projects range from high-profile aerospace engineering and biofuel research at Texas A&M University to a small, church-based drug prevention program.

Edwards said Friday he was proud of the federal money he secured for local projects because it's an effective way to encourage local growth.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to make appropriations, he said, and earmarks allow local leaders to identify and receive funding for projects they see as important.

"I believe [locally initiated projects] make more sense than letting some bureaucrat in the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C., make decisions about what projects to fund," he said. "I would challenge anyone to criticize agricultural research at A&M or emergency response training that help make our cities safer."

A majority of the $41.6 million will go to Texas A&M, including $985,000 for biofuels research and $705,000 for aerospace engineering projects that are used by NASA for lunar and Mars exploration.

Ken Peddicord, director of Texas A&M's Texas Engineering Experiment Station, said the funding is an important step in advancing research into new energy sources.

Texas A&M's BioEnergy Alliance -- a partnership between the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station -- has developed groundbreaking research in alternative fuels such as sorghum that do not come from food sources, he said.

"This money allows the program to strike off in new directions, to move away from corn and ethanol," he said.

St. Joseph Health System also received money for repairs to its Madisonville hospital.

Gentry Woodard, director of legislative affairs and grants for the St. Joseph Health System, said employees at the 57-year-old hospital have volunteered on weekends to make repairs themselves.

Edwards said the staff dedication is one reason he allotted $117,000 to pay for repairs to the roof and emergency room upgrades.

"It was terribly important to that community," he said.

The earmarks come on top of the 2008 defense appropriations bill that was signed into law in November, in which Edwards secured $6.8 million for Texas A&M defense projects and $2.6 million for Lynntech Inc.

Other local earmarks include:

$392,000 to repave County Road 172 in northern Grimes County.

$196,000 to make improvements to Collard Street in Madisonville.

$376,000 to improve communication technology equipment at the Navasota Police Department.

$12.5 million to train emergency first responders at the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center at Texas A&M.

$2 million to fund research at the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute at Texas A&M.

$21.9 million to 23 farming, forestry and animal health research programs at Texas A&M.

$1.39 million to provide anti-terrorism training to educators and local law enforcement through the Texas Engineering Extension Service's Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program and Texas A&M's Project Protect.

$588,000 to Brazos Valley Transportation Management Center to study local traffic solutions and plan for future growth.

$150,000 to Project Focus, a drug- and alcohol-abuse prevention program at Shiloh Baptist Church in Bryan.

Chet on the Radio: For Madison County

Kat — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 11:18:25 -0700

Chet Edwards has been there for Madison County when it matters most.

Click the "play" button

Hard Work. Results. That’s what Chet Edwards stands for.

Chet Edwards has been there for Madison County when it matters most. Chet Edwards has worked hard to bring our fair share of tax dollars back home, to make life a little better for us, and for our families. It’s Chet Edwards who worked hard and secured one million dollars to widen Highway 21, to improve highway safety, and bring more economic development to Madison County.

And when Chet Edwards found out that Saint Joseph’s Hospital desperately needed a new roof, he rolled up his sleeves, and secured the funding the hospital needed. And as a father of two little leaguers himself, Chet went to bat for our children, and brought home the money that was needed to install lighting at Madisonville’s athletic fields.

Chet Edwards. Independent. Effective. For us. Because he’s one of us.

And that’s why Chet Edwards for Congress is proud to have paid for this message.

Congressman Edwards visits Madisonville

Kat — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 10:10:39 -0700

July 11, 2006
Congressman Edwards visits Madisonville

Madisonville Meteor
By Tina Baiter | Meteor staff writer

U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards visited Madisonville on Friday, July 7, to talk with county officials and people from the community about funding for a project to widen Hwy 21 and about funding for a new roof at the hospital.

“When I first started coming to Madison County...people talked about transportation and healthcare as two priorities,” Edwards said. “Madison County doesn't ask for a lot from me. You do pay federal taxes...so I've worked to see we get some of your tax dollars back.”

In June, Edwards announced that he secured $1 million to widen Highway 21 under the 2007 Transportation Appropriations Bill, which has passed the House of Representatives.

He also announced he secured $165,000 to construct a roof for Madison St. Joseph's Health Center under the 2007 Labor, Education, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, which passed the House Appropriations Com-mittee. That money has not yet passed the House's approval though.

“This is a perfect example of a partnership of local and county governments working to get with the federal government,” Edwards said. “It was just a privilege for me to be your voice in congress. This (funding for Hwy 21) was my first request on the Transportation Appropria-tions Bill this year.”

The $1 million in funding for the Hwy 21 project will help fund the county's portion of an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) to widen the highway in Madisonville where it intersects with Interstate 45.

One thing is currently standing in the way of the funding though - the U.S. Senate.

“While I wish we didn't have the senate...we do have a bicameral legislature,” Edw-ards said. “I think the single most important thing you can do is write to Senator Hutchinson, who is on the Appropriations Committee, and to Senator Cornyn, and let them know this is very important to our community. Let them know Madison County doesn't ask for a lot from our federal government.”

Edwards encouraged all citizens to voice their support to the senators for the funding.
“You don't have to be an elected official or a person with a title in front of your name to make a difference,” he said. “You are our bosses.”

Edwards also promised to continue pushing his colleagues in Congress to support the funding for the highway improvement project.

“If they don't add it (the funding) in the Senate Bill, we have to continue to fight hard,” he said. “This will continue to be my single top priority project.”

Edwards also encouraged the four county commissioners present to talk with TXDOT about when road construction improvements could begin.

“I think it would be good if y'all can continue to work with them and push them on the county level,” he said. “The sooner we can get this finished, the better it will be for the people in this area.”

After the meeting, Edwards sent out a press release notifying the media that TXDOT told his office they plan to begin work on the project in April of 2007.

“Improving Hwy 21 is a safety and economic development issue for Madison County, and I am thrilled to learn from TXDOT that the work to widen Highway 21 will begin next April,” Edwards said. “Local officials have told me how important the expansion of Hwy 21 is, and they have worked hard for several years to make this project happen.”

During his visit on Friday, Edwards also addressed the possibility of getting funding for a new roof at the hospital.

“One of the things that came up (during a recent visit) was the need to do some upgrading and repair work at the hospital,” Edwards said. “Very few things beat out vital health care. Having quick access to care in rural areas...that's the difference between life and death.”

Edwards did note that while he was able to secure the money in the House's 2007 Labor, Education, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, the money was not a guarantee.
“On that bill, we can't count that money until the check's written,” he said. “They might even hold onto it and not bring it to the floor. Unlike the Transportation Bill that's already passed through the House, the bill with the hospital funding has not gone through the House.”
Reed Edmundson, hospital administrator of Madison St. Joseph, was still grateful for the efforts Edwards had put out to attempt to get the funding.

“Obviously it's a big dollar amount for us, and we really appreciate the efforts you're doing,” Edmundson told Edwards during the meeting.

“It's critical we be able to see we have a good education and health care system, and if we do that, I think families are going to continue to migrate to rural areas,” Edwards said.

While many people have criticized politicians for adding funding for local projects into appropriation bills, Edwards said sometimes the strategy is necessary when the idea for the projects is initiated by community members.

“I believe in fighting, frankly, to see you get a fair return on your tax dollars back home,” he said. “That's why I consider it an honor to work with your community leaders on projects like these. While some congressional earmarks shouldn't be in appropriation bills, all of the congressional projects I sponsor are coming from the grassroots up. All these projects are projects that came from you; they didn't come from me.”

Edwards concluded his talk on Friday by encouraging the community to continue giving advice and writing when they have concerns.

“If we keep working together, then we'll get some hits and be successful in bringing some of your tax dollars back home,” he said.

One county commissioner vocalized the importance of the federal funding for the Hwy 21 project.

“If we don't get the money, we're going to be in bad shape in this county,” Pct. 1 Commissioner Ronald Standley said.

Congressman Celebrates Memorial Day

Kat — Tue, 31 May 2005 16:52:16 -0700

May 31, 2005
Congressman Celebrates Memorial Day in Town

Madisonville Meteor
By TRACY DANG | Meteor staff writer
Madisonville had a special guest in town at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Day Service Monday.

Congressman Chet Edwards was at the Truman Kimbro Convention Center to attend and speak at the observance that honors the men and women who have served this country.

"How do we thank someone who's giving up their life to protect our freedom?" Edwards said. "These are ordinary citizens, making extraordinary sacrifices for the land we call home."

Edwards spoke of honoring the veterans who are still here and remembering the 1.4 million soldiers who have lost their lives. He told stories of soldiers risking their own lives to save comrades and of family members affected by the lost of a loved one.

"You can't put a price tag on the suffering of young widows, children growing up without their parent or mothers mourning for their lost child," he said. "What families were never to be, and what dreams were never fulfilled. May each of us choose to use our freedom for the way that they died."

This year's VFW Memorial Day Service was focused on the veterans of World War II.

"I heard that there are 1,500 World War II veterans dying each day," said Reed Harden, Senior Vice Commander of VFW Post 8233. "It won't be long 'til there's not too many of us left."

Poems were read, and patriotic songs were sung as people paid respect to the servicemen and women who have fought around the world, both on and off the battlefield.

Those who attended had positive things to say about the observance.

"I thought it was fantastic," said WWII Veteran Kirby Woehst. "It's one of those things we need to continue to remember because there we're not going to be here for that long."

Many said having a member of Congress at the service was an honor in itself.

"It's not everyday that the opportunity presents itself," Woehst said. "He's very popular and well-liked because of his sponsorship of so many things."

"He has a history of helping the veterans and tries to do whatever he can," Harden said. "You couldn't ask for a finer Congressman."