Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Continued

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004—CONTINUED

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I would like to address a provision that Chairman BENNETT has added to the manager's amendment to the fiscal year 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill on my behalf.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I would be happy if Senator MURKOWSKI explained this provision in greater detail.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. The provision in question makes the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development eligible to receive a water and waste disposal grant under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act in an amount that is not less than 75 percent of the total cost of providing water and sewer service to the proposed hospital in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Alaska. In addition, this provision allows the funds to be passed through the department to the local governmental entity that will do the water and sewer work on the hospital. This local governmental entity will be chosen by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I would like Ms. MURKOWSKI to explain her rationale for including this provision in the manager's amendment.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. This new hospital project will be an economic boon for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Currently, there is a hospital in Palmer, which is one of the larger communities in the borough. However, this is the only full-service hospital in the entire borough. This borough, which is the home to many people who commute to work in Anchorage, has grown a great deal over the years. In fact, the borough's population is projected to double in the next ten years. Therefore, a new hospital is needed in this borough. This proposed hospital will be located halfway between the communities of Wasilla and Palmer and will be more easily accessible to more of the borough's residents.

Currently, the site on which the proposed hospital will be located does not have a water or sewer connection. Therefore, such a connection is critical to the success of the hospital project, which will serve so many people in a high-growth area in my State.

Please allow me to share with you some details on the economic effect that this hospital project will have on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. It will create 680 full time and part time construction jobs during the first phase of the construction. Once the hospital is complete, 1,200 to 1,800 new jobs will be created through new hospital operations. It will add $22.8 million in construction labor income. The new hospital will pay approximately $1.3 million in local property taxes and will produce a total of $2.08 million in local and State revenues from construction and another $3.84 million from new hospital operations.

These statistics don't begin to depict the more significant statistics on lives saved and people healed. This project is a win-win for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the State of Alaska. It will have the single largest positive impact on the borough's economy for the next decade. More importantly, it will yield the single largest positive impact on the health of the community and residents, as well.

Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I thank Senator MURKOWSKI for explaining the need for her provision in the manager's amendment to this important legislation.