Senator Murray Discusses Climate Readiness Investments in Seattle's South Park Neighborhood

"Everyone, in South Park and across Seattle, knows that rising sea levels and extreme storms are becoming the new normal and so is flooding. This is causing serious damage to families' homes, to businesses, to community spaces and our environment. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I'm better able to make sure Washington state's priorities are the federal government's priorities. That includes fighting for Congressionally Directed Spending for projects that will make a real difference in our communities -- like the $3 million in climate resilience money for flooding I'm working hard to secure for South Park in our next spending bill. And I am also looking at how I can write our spending bills to ensure we are moving towards a stronger clean energy economy and climate resilience across government.

The good news is that we have already made major progress when it comes to investments in flood mitigation, climate resiliency, and strengthening our coasts. Last year, we passed the Inflation Reduction Act--the biggest piece of legislation to tackle the climate crisis in our nation's history. The IRA includes historic investments into coastal resiliency, which means less flooding risks for communities like South Park. I also helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure, which included $3 billion for coastal infrastructure and climate change resiliency. So I'll be watching closely to make sure funding from the IRA and Infrastructure Law is being fully implemented, as we intended."

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