Congressman Cleaver Secures Over $13 Million in House Appropriations Legislation to Support Local Projects Across Missouri’s Fifth District

(Kansas City, MO) - Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) announced that he has secured $13,103,920 in Community Project Funding (CPF) in appropriations packages announced by the House Committee on Appropriations. With the appropriations process moving forward in the full committee, Congressman Cleaver successfully included federal investments for twenty projects across Missouri's Fifth Congressional District in the funding bills drafted by the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD), as well as the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS).

"From Kansas City to Independence, Grandview to Lee's Summit, I'm proud to support local projects in every community across Missouri's Fifth Congressional District that will help to boost public safety, support critical infrastructure, and spur economic development," said Congressman Cleaver. "I know that these federal investments are critical to our congressional district and the Missourians who will benefit from them. As the appropriations process continues to move forward, I will do everything in my power to ensure they make their way home to the people of the Fifth District."

Included in the recently announced funding packages are twenty separate investments for local projects supported by Congressman Cleaver, including:

• $1,200,000 to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) to be used for environmental cleanup, demolition, and erosion control necessary to prepare a 16.5-acre site for eventual transit-oriented development in the Northland .
• $1,000,000 to the Independence Housing Authority's Gateway Crossing to be used to modernize the existing public housing community to ensure safe, high-quality housing remains available for low- and very low-income families in Jackson County.
• $1,000,000 to the City of Kansas City for 18^th & Vine Capital Improvements, stabilizing 18th & Vine buildings by upgrading retail spaces, structural systems, building envelopes, and HVAC for safety, efficiency, and activation.
• $850,000 to the City of Lee's Summit to construct a new airport traffic control tower at the Kansas City-Lee's Summit Regional Airport.
• $850,000 to the City of Raytown to be used at the Sarah Colman-Livengood Park for the demolition of aging, non-accessible facilities, which will be relocated and replaced with new, ADA-compliant, fully accessible facilities, improving the space which serves the whole community, while also addressing ADA accessibility.
• $772,700 to the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UMKC) to be used to position UMKC as a research and validation hub dedicated to developing standards-aligned, AI-driven cybersecurity tools specifically designed to protect public schools and municipalities before disruption occurs. The research will aid in proactively identifying vulnerabilities, strengthening defenses, and developing reproducible cybersecurity measurement tools.
• $772,700 to the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) to replace high mileage, end-of-life police cruisers for the Kansas City Police Department.
• $772,700 to KCPD to be used to allow the Kansas City Police Department tactical response team to purchase equipment that will assist in responding to high-risk incidents, such as acts of terror, mass casualty events, active shooters, disasters, and hostage incidents, enhancing officer safety, but also the safety of the community as a whole.
• $772,700 to KCPD to allow the Kansas City Police Crime Laboratory (KCPCL) to replace aging, outdated equipment while also adding new state-of-the-art technologies. This will help to ensure high-quality forensic testing results in a timely manner that is essential to increasing safety across Kansas City.
• $772,700 to the Independence Police Department (IPD) to be used to enhance operational readiness, officer safety, and community service capabilities through targeted investments in critical public safety equipment, modernizing essential tools used for daily patrol operations, emergency response, and high-risk incident management which will directly result in increased public safety.
• $772,700 to the City of Lee's Summit to be used to develop a regional Public Safety Communications Center and Real-Time Crime Center to enhance emergency response across Lee's Summit, Blue Springs, Independence, Grandview, and nearby jurisdictions, improving regional collaboration that will improve public safety.
• $567,720 to the City of Kansas City to be used by the Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) to acquire a fireboat to address a critical gap in emergency response capabilities along Kansas City's waterways, protecting vital waterfront infrastructure, reducing community risk, strengthening regional emergency response capabilities, and serving as a critical resource for search and rescue operations and emergency medical transport.
• $500,000 to the City of Sugar Creek to be used for road and streetscape upgrades on the Sterling Avenue corridor to improve safety, durability, and connectivity to downtown and reinvestment areas, helping to prevent more costly repairs, protect critical freight infrastructure, improve public safety, support economic development, and enhance accessibility.
• $500,000 to the City of North Kansas City to be used for the replacement of aging Macken Park playground with modern, inclusive equipment, safety surfacing, shade, lighting, and improved paths for families and all abilities, improving a heavily used public asset, extending the life of park infrastructure, and providing long-term community benefits that serve residents of all abilities and ages.
• $500,000 to the City of Grandview to be used to upgrade and revitalize Grandview View Community Center, a critical community support space, with an emphasis on offering a wider range of programming for the city's youth and young adult populations. While the current building is limited in capacity and design, making it difficult to meet the growing needs of the Grandview area, the funding will expand youth and young adult-focused programming, helping reduce idle time, strengthening social connections, and providing a safe alternative to unsupervised or high-risk environments.
• $500,000 to the City of Gladstone to rehabilitate ballfields, playgrounds, and park infrastructure at Happy Rock and Central Park to improve safety, accessibility, and recreation, strengthening the community's quality of life, supporting economic vitality through recreation and regional visitation, and addressing compelling local infrastructure needs.
• $250,000 to the City of Independence to be used for the rehabilitation of the existing R.D. Mize bridge over Little Blue Trace Trail, which has deteriorated and caused a portion of the Little Blue Trace trail to be closed, reestablishing trail connectivity and improving public safety.
• $250,000 to the City of Kansas City to be used to promote public safety by introducing traffic calming measures along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, improving pedestrian-activated crosswalk beacons, reconfiguring intersections on Kansas City's High Injury Network, and helping reduce fatal, near fatal, and other serious crashes along this corridor.
• $250,000 to the KCATA to be used to make improvements in ADA access, safety, and system equity at bus stops throughout KCATA's service area that are not ADA accessible, expanding access to all residents at bus stops throughout the city's public transportation infrastructure and improving public facilities for all the system's users.
• $250,000 to the City of Grandview to be used to enhance safety, accessibility, and community connectivity for alternative transportation and recreational users of the Hwy 150 Trail, which has reached its functional lifespan and is currently struggling with poor surface conditions and limited usability. Through this project, the city proposes to remove the deteriorated trail and construct a new, more modern shared-use trail.

Since Fiscal Year 2022, Congressman Cleaver has secured nearly $109,000,000 in federal investments for local projects throughout the Fifth Congressional District. The CJS funding package was passed by the House Committee on Appropriations earlier this month and the THUD funding package is expected to receive a vote in the full Appropriations Committee next week before both move on to consideration from the full House of Representatives.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.