WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded Senate passage of the Conference Report to the Interior Appropriations bill, which included funding for the Colonial Fox Theatre in Pittsburg, Kansas.

"I am pleased to secure funding for the restoration and preservation of the Colonial Fox Theatre," said Brownback. "This theatre has a long, proud history in Pittsburg and throughout southeast Kansas. Its preservation for future generations of Kansans will enrich the state and the Pittsburg community."

The Conference Report includes $500,000 for the restoration of the Colonial Fox Theatre, which opened in 1920. In 2007 it was placed on the register of Historic Kansas Places, and in 2008 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.