Maryville, TN – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, has released the following statement on the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill that would provide $189.1 million for the construction of a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga Tennessee.
“This bill, at my request, provides $189.1 million to build a badly needed new courthouse in the largest and busiest judicial district in Tennessee. Construction for this new courthouse has been through a rigorous justification and prioritization process for 21 years, and is the only solution to addressing the significant operation, space, and security deficiencies that exist at the current federal courthouse in Chattanooga – the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse – which was constructed 87 years ago,” Senator Alexander said.
“The Judicial Conference of the United States has designated Chattanooga as a Courthouse Construction Priority, and I am glad that the need for this new facility has been recognized by the committee,” stated Senator Alexander.
“The $189.1 million will be appropriated in one lump sum to pay for the entire project,” Alexander said. “Speeding up construction and saving taxpayers money.”
The Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill is consistent with the spending limits included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 approved by Congress, and signed by President Trump, in August 2019. The funding must now be considered and approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives to become law.
