Press Releases

Today, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Senator Alex Padilla (CA), and members of the Los Angeles Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to urge federal funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project.

The letter requests $272.8 million in federal funding appropriated in the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) legislation and in Fiscal Year 2023 through the USACE Fiscal Year 2023 Work Plan for the project.

In their letter, the lawmakers emphasized the economic, environmental, and social benefits that federal investment on the project could yield for the Los Angeles community.

“We are at a critical moment where we can sustainably transform the Los Angeles River from a concrete canal back into a place of community and ecological restoration,” wrote the lawmakers. “This project emerged from the input of thousands of Angelenos and will directly benefit hundreds of thousands of people who live in historically disadvantaged communities with severely limited access to nature. Importantly, funding this project will help spur economic recovery and support vital aquatic ecosystem restoration, one of the key aspects of the USACE’ mission, in the heart of the City of Los Angeles.”

In addition to Rep. Gomez and Sen. Padilla, the letter was signed by Reps. Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Judy Chu (CA-27), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Karen Bass (CA-37), Julia Brownley (CA-26), and Brad Sherman (CA-30).

The full text of the letter is available here.

This letter builds on Rep. Gomez’s body of work to support restoration of the LA River.

• In April 2019, Rep. Gomez led his Los Angeles Congressional Delegation colleagues in urging the House Appropriations Committee to allocate $2.73 billion for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project.

• In February 2020, Rep. Gomez and colleagues announced a $1.857 million investment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers into this project, the first federal funding for the L.A. River since fiscal year 2017.

• In June 2020, Rep. Gomez led his Los Angeles colleagues in Congress in requesting $53 million for the public-private partnership-designated restoration project.

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