FY27 Appropriations Requests
Overview
Chair Cole announced that the House Committee on Appropriations will be accepting Community Project Funding (CPF) requests from Members. This is in addition to the standard programmatic and language-based requests. Each Member is limited to no more than 20 Community Project Funding requests across all subcommittees for Fiscal Year 2027 and there is no guarantee that all requested projects will be funded. The FY2027 CPF process has a limited scope with combined earmarks capped at 0.5% of all discretionary spending and eligible accounts restricted. A request submitted by Congresswoman Torres to the Committee does NOT guarantee the project will be funded.
More information on the appropriations process can be found on the House Appropriations Committee's page here.
Community Stewardship
CPF rules include a variety of requirements to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. These projects must follow all relevant federal requirements that support good stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Recipients may not change the project once the CPF has been signed into law by the President. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will conduct an independent audit of a sample of enacted projects and report its findings to Congress.
Transparency
The final 20 requests submitted by Congresswoman Torres to the Appropriations Committee are posted below. Members are required to certify that neither they nor their immediate family have a financial interest in the requests made.
Eligible Projects
Only state and local government entities, public institutions, and nonprofit entities are eligible to submit and receive funding through CPF. Funding cannot be directed to for-profit entities and will not include waivers for State or local match requirements. While matching funds do not have to be in-hand prior to the request, requesting entities must have a plan to meet such requirements for the project to be viable. Each submission must be for FY2027 only and cannot include multi-year funding requests. Additionally, each project has a clear federal nexus outlined in the letters included below. The Committee will only consider projects with demonstrated community support in the form of: letters from local elected officials; press articles highlighting need; support from newspaper editorial boards; mentions on State intended use plans, community development plans, or other publicly available planning documents; resolutions passed by city councils or boards; etc.
Project Requests:
Title: Ontario Police Department Drone Detection System
Proposed Recipient: City of Ontario
Address: 303 East B Street, Ontario, California 91764
Requested Amount: $2,200,000
Explanation of Request: The project is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the installation of low altitude radar would allow the Ontario Police Department to detect small, unmanned drones that may present a threat or hazard for both the community, large scale events, and local airport operations.
Title: Corona-Norco Unified School District Security and Safety in Schools Operations
Proposed Recipient: Corona-Norco Unified School District
Address: 2820 Clark Ave., Norco, California 92860
Requested Amount: $1,300,000
Explanation of Request: The project, in partnership with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the installed security cameras and improved communication devices will allow for law enforcement to coordinate better with schools, proactively deter criminal activity, improve school safety and security, and respond to emergencies faster.
Title: Fontana Unified School District Police Department Regional Training Center and Emergency Operations Center
Proposed Recipient: Fontana Unified School District
Address: 9680 Citrus Ave, Fontana, California 92335
Requested Amount: $2,037,880
Explanation of Request: The project, for the Fontana Unified School District Police Department and other law enforcement agencies in the region, is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the project establishes a center with training and resources for law enforcement officers dedicated to keeping schools and communities safe, helping reduce crime, and improving public safety coordination and response