Appropriations have been made for the construction of a new federal courthouse.

Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, announced Wednesday morning the inclusion of nearly $948 million in the Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations omnibus package for federal courthouse projects.

Cuellar's press secretary Riley Brands said this money includes funding for the construction of a new federal courthouse for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio.

"As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, funding the San Antonio courthouse construction was a priority of mine," Cuellar said.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the current courthouse is badly in need of replacement.

“The aging San Antonio federal courthouse falls woefully short of meeting the community’s needs, and a new facility that keeps the judges, staff, and folks who use it every day safe and secure is long overdue," Cornyn said. "I look forward to working with San Antonio’s bipartisan delegation to get this bill over the finish line.”

The current courthouses causes numerous problems for its users. Aside from security issues such as judges, jurors, prosecutors and visitors often passing defendants charged with violent crimes in corridors and conveyances around the building and an unsecured perimeter, the building has other flaws such as high levels of lead and iron contamination in its water.

"The current John H. Wood Jr. U.S. Courthouse in San Antonio was built nearly 50 years ago and suited not to the task of administering justice but to hosting part of the 1968 World's Fair," Brands said.

Other issues include missing heating and air conditioning controls and asbestos and mold in and around the HVAC systems.

“The inclusion of the funding for a new federal courthouse will allow for better administration of justice as the current building was never intended for this purpose," Cuellar said, "Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and I fought together in a bipartisan manner to make this funding possible."