Infrastructure, housing funding top of mind in city briefing on federal legislative program

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee held a briefing this week on the city’s legislative program, which addresses city priorities and interests at the federal level for next year’s congressional session.

Tuesday’s meeting came hours before polls opened in the Nov. 5 general election. Races for president, state and federal House and Senate races were largely decided into early Wednesday morning.

Sally Basurto, director of government affairs, briefed the committee on Tuesday, laying out a program emphasizing investments in infrastructure, housing and more.

Development of the program by the city’s Government Affairs team began in July 2024, Basurto said.

The program features seven pillars of focus for San Antonio going into next year’s federal session:

• Infrastructure, Transportation and Resilience

• Housing

• Workforce and Education

• Public Health and Human Services

• Military Protection

• Public Safety and Homeland Security

• Advancement of Community Interests

Basurto, when discussing the first pillar, described supporting federal funding opportunities for both infrastructure and policies around general transportation and aviation projects.

The VIA Metropolitan Transit’s Advanced Rapid Transit Lines and upgrades at the San Antonio International Airport are some of the city’s ongoing transportation projects.

A new measure under the housing pillar supported funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which assists residents’ ability to stay in their homes during severe weather events.

A new public health pillar supports the expansion of public health funding, which Basurto said needs to be improved, especially as San Antonio’s health challenges rise.

Basurto noted that Metro Health identified over $9 million in future funding needs around public health programs, such as those addressing diabetes and violence prevention.

“This is gonna be an area of great need for us to coordinate with them and work with our federal agency partners to try and identify and prevent these gaps,” Basurto said.

The Advancement of Community Interests pillar mentioned supporting civil rights protection and federal nondiscrimination statutes as a new item for recommendation.

Committee members discuss priorities, program

After Basurto closed, the committee broke down their priorities and discussed the program.

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez

• The councilman expressed his confidence in the program, noting high priorities around infrastructure. McKee-Rodriguez expressed interest in continued funding for the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant program.

• “We have the highest number of railroad crossings in the city, and they’re in my district.”

• McKee-Rodriguez highlighted the burden caused by the crossings for those commuting and as a barrier; the councilman likened the crossings to highways as “tools of segregation” and redlining.

• The councilman supported funding for the continued burial of utility lines and preserving and upgrading public housing.

District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito

• The councilwoman, looking at the transportation and infrastructure resilience pillar, asked Basurto where the city was at with a San Antonio to Austin rail line.

• Basurto acknowledged conversations had occurred; however, she pointed out difficulty around the number of jurisdictions along the pathway stalling talks. She also mentioned funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but there were “a lot of pieces that didn’t fall into place in the last couple of years.”

• Assistant City Manager Jeff Coyle noted the funding mostly focused on an increase in Amtrak’s presence around the country.

• “It really wouldn’t be the inner-city rail between the two,” Coyle said.

• However, Coyle acknowledged “renewed discussion” between Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and Travis County Judge Andy Brown on the topic despite dwindling federal funding sources.

• While Gavito expressed interest in seeking out funding sources for the line, Coyle said, bluntly, it probably “isn’t a primary focus” when describing the city’s Transportation Department as the likely funding advocate.

• The councilwoman was excited about prospects for continued funding to support parks and recreational facilities. Gavito pointed to Woodlawn Lake Park receiving a $3.25 million funding boost in late September.

• “This significant investment marks a pivotal step in revitalizing one of our community’s most utilized yet underfunded parks, ensuring it remains a vibrant and accessible space for families and nature lovers alike,” Gavito said in a news release about the announcement.

• Regarding housing, Gavito pointed to conversations with Opportunity Home regarding affordable housing in District 7. While she was “open” to the idea, the councilwoman stressed the need to maintain current housing stock.

• Gavito pointed to assistance for the housing authority, citing the current housing stock as “really subpar.”

• “We all know we need to continue to build affordable housing, but I think maintaining is just as important,” Gavito said.

• Basurto said Government Affairs would plan a meeting with Opportunity Home to address funding gaps; however, she said that available funding would “remain to be seen” under the new Congress and presidential administration.

• When discussing public safety, Gavito echoed concerns from her district around mail theft.

District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran

• Viagran encouraged the city’s government affairs department to begin looking at where the city could align with various chambers as they begin forming in Washington.

• “We (need) to look at the priorities of the chambers (and) where we think they are going to align with the city, where we think they are going to diverge based on, basically, whose in the White House,” Viagran said.

• Viagran touched on where the city would receive funding to address climate and weather concerns and what departments would be addressing those issues.

• In discussing funding for parks, Viagran asked to ensure that continued funding be sourced for The Alamo and the San Antonio Missions.

• “I want to make sure that we continue to advocate for that within our delegates,” she said.

• Viagran posed questions about what is happening at the federal level regarding Supplemental Security Income and those living with disabilities.

• “We are trying to start a ready-to-work program, and we’re trying to get people involved and get them better-paying jobs, but they’re faced with the federal government’s hurdles that if they make too much that could reduce their Social Security,” she said.

• Viagran expressed wanting to get people out of poverty and beginning to form generational wealth.

• “Some of their policies that they have federally regarding Social Security, regarding disability and Medicare, are keeping individuals in poverty,” she said.

District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur

• The councilwoman echoed the sentiments of her other committee members. She started by highlighting District 1′s interest in continued infrastructure funding, saying this was something her district “talks about most.”

• “We were talking to the Public Works teams about how much it would cost to fix all of our streets right now, and it’s upward of $2 billion, and we don’t have $2 billion in capital money just sitting around,” Kaur said.

• Going forward, the councilwoman stressed continued work to compete for federal infrastructure funding, pointing to planned work around Interstate 35.

• On housing, Kaur agreed with Gavito on the need to provide funding for maintenance.

• “Figuring out a way to help address maintenance issues, I think, is really important. Because we have to increase supply, but if we’re not maintaining our properties, it seems unjust to the people that are living in those properties right now,” Kaur said.

• Kaur noted a conversation with the VFW about a request to increase funding for HUD-VASH vouchers, which target homelessness in the veteran population.

• On public health and its relationship to exacerbating homelessness, Kaur suggested an increase in funding support for beds at mental health centers.

• Kaur encouraged continued support, potentially around a funding incentive, for a stronger partnership between Pre-K 4 SA and the city’s Head Start program.

What happens next?

The Nov. 5 committee briefing was the third date of interest.

Basurto said the government affairs team will work toward a B session briefing sometime in December.

After the new Congress begins on Jan. 3, Basurto hopes for full council approval of the program in January 2025.

“January gives us the opportunity to see where the dust is settling, who are going to be the key chairmanships in the various key congressional committees that we track and monitor very closely,” Basurto said.

See below to view the proposed legislative program: