$2.4 billion in federal funds earmarked for state

Texas will receive more than $1.7 billion in military construction projects, with military construction accounting for the largest portion of the state's congressional earmarks. The largest project is a $156 million addition to the San Antonio Military Medical Center. The next two largest are $109 million and $103 million projects at Fort Bliss near El Paso to build a Close Combat Tactical Trainer Facility and a Brigade Combat Team Complex.

Other military projects include several more multi-million dollar projects at Fort Bliss and Fort Sam Houston, most designed to house and train new units. Also, projects are earmarked for a Headquarters Administration Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Army Reserve Centers in Austin and Fort Worth and a Joint Indoor Training Tank at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station.

Energy and water earmark projects totaled more than $311 million in Texas. Major projects include $23 million for maintenance and improvements to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, $20 million for Sims Bayou in Houston, $19 million for improvements to the Galveston Harbor and Ship Channel and $17 million for maintaining and improving the Houston Ship Channel.

Other energy and water projects include the Dallas Floodway Extension of the Trinity River Project, the completion of construction of the Petawatt Laser at The University of Texas at Austin, the Great Plains Wind Power Test Facility at Texas Tech University and the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute at Texas A&M University.

Transportation, housing and urban development earmarks total more than $186 million in Texas. Major projects in this category include $84 million for a light rail train project in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, $28 million for Air Traffic Control Systems in Houston, and $5 million for the VIA Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project in San Antonio.

Other projects of interest include the Galveston Rail Trolley Extension to Seawall Boulevard, San Marcos Municipal Airport terminal and T-hangar construction and expansion of the Port Aransas Ferryboat Operation.

More than $107 million was earmarked for defense projects. Major projects include $4 million for the Alliance for Nanohealth in Houston, $2.7 million for the Stress Disorders Research Initiative at Fort Hood and $2.6 million for the Surface Enhanced Infrared Detection of Threats at College Station.

Under commerce, justice and science projects, $5 million was set aside for the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, and under ag-rural development, $1.7 million was earmarked for the Plant Stress and Water Conservation Lab in Lubbock.

To view all of the congressional earmarks approved for Texas, click here.