AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin will miss out on about $9.7 million worth of federal funding that had been requested for various projects.
President Trump signed legislation last week that funds the government through the end of September, averting a partial government shutdown. The law also shelved all pending requests for Congressional Community Funding (CCF).
CCF requests are funds provided by Congress. The funds are directed by members of Congress to specific projects within their own districts. Austin has received about $23.6 million of funding through the program since Fiscal Year 2022, according to a press release from the city Friday.
The move means Austin will not receive the funding that had been requested for various projects in 2025, including:
- Waterloo Greenway Creek restoration and water quality improvements
- Austin Community Violence Intervention
- Dove Springs Early Childhood Education Center
- Oak Brook extension of the Northern Walnut Creek Trail
Mayor Kirk Watson called the news “certainly disappointing,” but said Austin would not abandon the projects.
“The city will continue to prioritize and seek to identify ways to fund important projects,” Watson said. “We are also hopeful that earmarks will be considered in Fiscal Year 2026 and stand ready to assist our Congressional delegation in championing the needs of Austinites.”
Watson went on to thank Congressmen Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett, both Democrats who represent the Austin area.
“I worked for months with the city, the SAFE Alliance and [Austin ISD] to develop and gain Appropriation Subcommittee approval for worthwhile projects that meet genuine local needs,” Rep. Doggett said in a statement Friday. “Now that effort is most regretfully lost, though I will look for an opportunity to try again in next year’s appropriation bill.”
Congressional leadership has indicated that members of Congress will be able to submit CCF funding requests for the next fiscal year, according to Austin’s Intergovernmental Relations Office.
