EL PASO - An $825 billion economic stimulus bill with money allocated to El Paso for purposes including flood control and the arts passed the House of Representatives appropriations committee Thursday.

"This bill is going to benefit our country for the next decade," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. "It's a very comprehensive, well thought out, very balanced bill."

Although there are no "earmarks" - when Congress pegs money for specific projects, often eliciting charges of cronyism and pork-barrel spending - Reyes said money is dedicated to larger projects that will help El Paso. The money is expected not only to improve infrastructure but also to provide jobs.

To become law, the bill must pass the full House and the Senate and then be signed by the president.

The bill includes $3.75 billion for Defense Department medical facilities, Reyes said, which could provide money to build the new Beaumont Army Medical Center planned for East El Paso. An additional $224 million is directed at "repairing flood-control systems along the whole international boundary of the Rio Grande," he said. He added the money could help fix a levee in Juárez that threatened to overflow during the 2006 floods.

And $1.15 billion would be allocated for construction and renovation of border ports of entry, Reyes said. Some of that money could be spent in El Paso to build a new bridge and to add lanes to existing bridges to improve border security and ease trade and commerce, he said.

Some of the money could be used to upgrade the clamshell on the stage at the Chamizal National Memorial, Reyes said.

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, a Texas Democrat whose district reaches eastern El Paso County, said agencies that don't aggressively pursue the money may be left out. "I want to encourage our communities to again revisit previous funding sources and identify projects within those agencies," said Rodriguez, who is on the House Appropriations Committee. "This is a critical time, and I want to make sure we are ready and that we prosper from this stimulus."


Stimulus bill

- Modernization of Land Ports of Entry Facilities - $1.15 billion: $1 billion for land ports of entry for General Services Administration (GSA), $615 million of which could be awarded within a 120-day time frame, which is meant to ensure the money circulates into the economy quickly; $150 million for Customs and Border Protection.

- Education - Money is included to increase the size of Pell Grants, support work-study programs, increase the amount of money available for student loans, prevent cuts in services to K-12 education, boost support for special education and make more money available for disadvantaged children.