Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01), the Acting Ranking Member of House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, is pleased to announce that the Department of Transportation issued a discretionary grant award in the amount of $1,546,734.00 to construct and extend the Easton Newman Field Airport runway in Talbot County. Extending the Easton Newman Field Airport runway will also provide an added measure of safety for both inbound and outbound air traffic as well as the runway maintenance crew. As one of only 84 National level airports, Easton Airport connects the First District as well as many local and statewide communities with access to national travel in multiple states.
Congressman Harris issued the following the statement:
“I am very pleased to see that the Department of Transportation issued this discretionary grant award to improve and extend the Easton Newman Airport runway. This funding is necessary especially at a time when air travel has increased significantly due people traveling more as our lives get back to normal. Extending the Easton Airport runway will also improve the general safety of all runway staff and I look forward to seeing the final completion of this project.”
Francine De Sanctis says
Oh my God. Did Harris actually do something for District 1. ???? He certainly could have chosen a subject that effects most of his constituents instead of a very few……like WOMENS RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS!
JT Smith says
It is Newnam not Newman field. See picture of Bill Newnam’s daughter in the preceding Spy piece. I suspect the spelling error is attributable to a boastful Congressman’s office, and not the Spy!
Editor says
Thank you. We have made the correction to the Harris press release we received.
Howard Freedlander says
Error is a tribute to our attentive congressman, who is still learning about his district after several terms.
BA Seabury says
Could it be that the grant award from the DOT was made possible, directly or indirectly, by the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that was passed by Congress under the Biden Administration?? Typical that a Republican who did NOT support the bill will try to take credit for the availability of funding!
Michael Davis says
Any of us who want to following the false claims by our MAGA congressional representative can do so by easily checking his website. I see no reason for you to be publishing his press releases word for word. Is there any evidence he had anything to do with getting this money?
Without that evidence, this article is as newsworthy as Harris announcing the sun will come up tomorrow.
Eugene Lopez says
I may be mistaken, but I believe that this grant may flow from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which Congressman Harris opposed, and along with 199 of his fellow Republicans, voted against last year. Now, he has the temerity to announce the grant of investments and jobs he opposed. Nice work, Andy!
James Wilson says
“I am very pleased to see that the Department of Transportation issued this discretionary grant award to improve and extend the Easton Newman Airport runway.”
I do believe that this is politician double-speak, obfuscation, and misinformation.
Mr. Harris is a member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee. He has nothing to do with the Dept. of Transportation. He is announcing something that he had nothing to do with but it sure sounds like he worked mighty hard to get that money. Must be an election coming up so he wants to make people think he is doing something other than attend meetings with trump to discuss how to not certify the election results.
I could be wrong and if I am, I will admit my mistake.
P.R.Getson says
You (and others) are not wrong, and it is Michah Risher who should be locally lauded! Harris had nothing to do with this award, and in fact the amount awarded was $1,696,734.00 for “Construct/Extend/Improve Safety Area”. It was directly related to the current administration of Biden and a NOFO process was used this time with criteria from the infrastructure bill which had to be met.
But as I understand it, $5.5million was awarded to Easton airport in 2019 after many years work directly with Talbot County/Risher et al., and it was due to efforts of Sen. Van Hollen and Cardin about 3 years ago as members of the powerful SENATE Budget and Appropriations committee and Cardin as ranking member of the SENATE Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee. Under FAA/ACIP this was a 3year rolling award. Cardin especially fought to be sure the FAA/AIP program (a separate component) continued to be funded.
(from FAA site) “.Airports are entitled to a certain amount of AIP funding each year, based on passenger volume. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, then the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding.”
This latest award to Easton, actually nearly $1.7M but reported as $1.5?, was a discretionary award made on a different basis, and the “acting ranking member” of a HOUSE Ag subcommittee (Harris) would have had nothing to do with it! He is merely the putative representative of Talbot’s previously qualified NOFO-district for need; associating his name with this award, no matter attempts at carefully crafted wording, is simply specious.
But it was nice to learn the airport work can continue on a very competitive basis via the sustained efforts of others for these monies.
Michael Pullen says
Harris doesn’t deserve any credit for this although he’s always willing to claim credit for things he’s done nothing to support. Planning, development, application for this funding was done by local government, the County Council and Micah Risher, Airport manager. Harris is at most a check-box along the way, not a mover or promoter, just letting what’s been done by local government take place. Not blocking progress doesn’t deserve credit.
He’s done plenty to block other funding for progress in the 1st District, just one example, the Ocean City wind-farm project for clean energy, and new manufacturing industry and jobs in Maryland. He’s done nothing to promote progress, he’s a culture warrior, refusing to recognize the rule of law, democratic norms and the needs of families and workers. He’s a proto-fascist who reveres authoritarianism and is a disgrace to our district.
Barbara H Perry says
This same claim by Harris was in the Star Democrat too. All the comments about Harris taking claim say it all. He just wants his name in the press to try to say he has done something. This statement in the press release: “As one of only 84 National level airports, Easton Airport connects the First District as well as many local and statewide communities with access to national travel in multiple states.” has me a bit confused since unless something has changed I don’t see how the Easton Airport provides those of us regular citizens access to national travel since there are no commercial flights from Easton to BWI or National Airport. As far as I know, only private and chartered flights use this airport and that benefits only the rich.