Washington, D.C. -  Congressman David Price (D-NC) today announced $9.3 million in federal grants to protect critical infrastructure in North Carolina, including ports and transit facilities.  As Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, Price has worked to enhance federal support for infrastructure protection and has successfully rejected attempts by the President to cut port and transit security grants.

“The federal government must work with the states and local communities to identify and protect critical infrastructure, such as port and transit facilities,” Price said.  “My subcommittee has made a bipartisan commitment to holding up the federal end of this partnership by providing the resources to meet infrastructure security needs.”

Price announced the following grants for protecting North Carolina’s infrastructure, which are administered and designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

• Charlotte Transit: $1,224,537 for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
• NC Port Facilities: $5,679,154 for Wilmington’s port; $1,770,401 for Morehead City’s port.
• Buffer Zone Protection:  $597,000 to provide security to various facilities throughout North Carolina that are considered critical infrastructure (facility designations are classified).

For the current fiscal year, President Bush requested $175 million for transit, despite warnings from experts that America’s public and private transit facilities were inadequately protected from a potential attack.  Recognizing the threat to transit that was apparent in the terrorist bombings in London, Madrid and Mumbai, Price’s subcommittee recommended, and Congress approved, $400 million for transit (included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, enacted in December).

Similarly, while President Bush requested only $210 million for port security grants, Price’s subcommittee recommended, and Congress approved, $400 million to protect American ports (included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, enacted in December). In 2003, the Coast Guard estimated port security needs at $7 billion.  Including this $400 million, Congress has now provided resources to address 23% of the needs the Coast Guard identified.