Ruppersberger Brings Home the Bacon: Secures $45 Million for Maryland and Nation

House passes $446.8 billion Omnibus Spending Bill

(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) is thrilled to announce more than $45 million in federal funding to help make Maryland a safer, greener and stronger state that is better prepared to meet challenges ahead. The funds were included in a $446.8 billion collective spending bill known as the omnibus that passed the House of Representatives today. The targeted spending will benefit the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, local schools, law enforcement, roads, mass transit, the environment, homeland security and critical community organizations.

A member of the House Appropriations Committee and House Intelligence Committee, Ruppersberger successfully fought to include the requests in the “Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Bill.”

“I am pleased to be in a position to provide Maryland the resources it needs to thrive,” Congressman Ruppersberger said. “I am held accountable by my constituents, who expect me to fight for vital programs that are helping our families and communities through these difficult economic times. This funding reflects my commitment to know and do what’s best for my district.”

Congressman Ruppersberger’s district includes BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, the National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), the Port of Baltimore and the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay. It also includes neighborhoods in Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County, and Baltimore City.

The District is also home to two of the state’s largest economic engines, BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore. In addition, 60,000 high-paying jobs are heading to the area through BRAC.

The conference bill must pass the Senate and be signed into law by the President. The omnibus serves as the funding vehicle for six different bills: Transportation-HUD; Commerce, Justice, Science; Financial Services; Labor-Health-Education; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs; and State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills. 

$8.075 Million for Fighting Crime

• $1.1 Million for Baltimore City Gun Violence Reduction Initiative
  The funding will help develop methods to reduce violent crime, eradicate the gang stronghold on distressed communities, and disrupt the pipeline that leads illegal firearms into Baltimore City.

• $200,000 for Baltimore City Juvenile Screening and Diversion Program
  The federal funding will develop juvenile screenings and diversion programs to help prevent juvenile crime, reduce gang involvement, decrease youth violence, and improve school attendance.

• $1 Million for Gang Elimination Taskforce
  The funding will enhance the Gang Elimination Taskforce based at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC) in Baltimore, Maryland. It will serve as a comprehensive information clearinghouse for gang-related law enforcement intelligence along the East Coast. The taskforce will work with local communities to help identify gang members, curb gang recruitment, and assist prosecutors and law enforcement officials to locate high-value targets. The funds will pay for additional investigators to focus solely on gang prosecutions. The taskforce will also have access to national real-time databases that track critical information about gang members across the country.

• $500,000 for Violence Prevention Initiative
  The funding will support a Maryland state program to improve public safety by containing potentially violent offenders, keeping juvenile offenders from becoming more violent, and requiring youth to be supervised in the community.

• $1.35 Million for Girl Scouts Beyond Bars
  The funding will allow a Girl Scouts of America program to continue to provide services for girls whose parents are incarcerated. The program helps keep incarcerated moms connected to their daughters and focus on rehabilitation and life outside the facility.

• $300,000 for Hotline Services for Victims of Sexual Violence and Rape Prevention
  The funding will support public education and outreach programs and a special hotline put together by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

• $1.5 Million for 911 Communications Center
  The funding will help purchase equipment to upgrade the 9-1-1 Communications Center in Baltimore County.

• $250,000 for Maryland Internet Safety 101 Program
  The funding will support an Internet safety program that protects children from online predators, increases parental awareness of child pornography, and engages communities in proactive Internet education.

• $1.175 Million for National Advocacy Center
  The federal funding will help the National Advocacy Center train and equip our nation’s state and local prosecutors to effectively represent their communities and constituents in the courtroom.

• $200,000 for Sheriff's Office Local Law Enforcement Enhancement
  The funding will help purchase and expand technology infrastructure at the Baltimore County Sheriff’s Office.

• $500,000 for Workforce Development for Ex-Offenders
  The funding increases the capacity of an on-going program that helps ex-offenders acquire employment skills, secure a position, and keep the job. This project contributes to Baltimore’s economy, makes communities safer, and reduces recidivism.

$6.15 Million for the Environment

• $300,000 for Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System
  The funding will expand a program to install interactive buoys marking the John Smith National Water Trail on the Chesapeake Bay, also known as the Chesapeake Bay Interactive Buoy System (CBIBS). CBIBS combines on-the-water sensor buoys and educational materials to interpret portions of the trail with the use of cell phone and Internet technology. In the long-term, the system contributes significantly to the restoration of the Bay habitat.

• $3 Million for Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration
  The funding will help ongoing efforts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help restore the natural oyster population of the Chesapeake Bay. The development of native oyster aquaculture is critical to a viable commercial oyster industry in the Bay.

• $150,000 for Earth System Information Delivery and Assessment
  The federal funding will establish a study at the University of Maryland to help with the collection of data to provide policy makers, urban development planners, natural resource managers, and citizens with the latest scientific information on climate change.

• $100,000 for Metagenomic Analysis of the Chesapeake Bay
  The funding will pay for a comprehensive scientific study of the Chesapeake Bay’s eco-system with an emphasis on how bacteria affect the Bay. The study will be used to improve the Bay’s health and create more productive fisheries that currently support over 28 million jobs in the fishing, seafood, aquaculture, tourism and recreation sectors

• $2.4 Million for Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System
  The funding will pay for the Flood Forecast and Warning System on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland, which uses sophisticated radar techniques, a network of stream and rain gauges, and automatic data transmission to provide the National Weather Service with information for river forecasts. The system provides accurate and advanced warnings of floods to residents and communities throughout the basin to significantly reduce the loss of life and property damage.

$16.456 Million for Military Construction

• $15.5 Million for Advanced Chemistry Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground
  The funding will pay for construction of the Analytical Chemistry Wing, completing the final phase of the new Advanced Chemistry Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The existing chemistry lab is very old and requires more than $1 million in annual energy costs. This will allow the old lab to close.

• $956,000 for Info Processing Node at Aberdeen Proving Ground
  The funding will consolidate employees and contractors with the Directorate of Information Management (DOIM) into one campus at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision will bring 8,000 new customers to DOIM requiring additional manpower. DOIM staff was moved out of their former facilities and is currently operating out of several, different offices. This funding will renovate the first of three existing Ordnance schoolhouses that will serve as administrative and specialized space for DOIM.

$650,000 for Health

• $650,000 for Maryland Community Health Centers
  This funding will improve the quality, speed, and delivery of healthcare and reduce costs in nine federally qualified community health centers representing 53 clinics throughout Maryland. The Electronic Patient Record System (EPRS) system and Health Trax will empower health centers to monitor and manage high-risk conditions of chronically ill patients on an out patient basis.

$1.292 Million for Community Programs

• $492,200 for Maryland Food Bank
  The funding will help renovate the Maryland Food Bank facility and improve the delivery of services in response to growing demand during this economic downturn.

• $800,000 United Way of Central Maryland - 2-1-1 Maryland Taskforce
  The funding will pay for infrastructure improvements, staff training, and general operations of 2-1-1 Maryland. The program is a 24-hour information and referral service that allows people a convenient way to access human service programs – everything from child care to insurance to emergency services. 2-1-1 systems have proven invaluable, particularly during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Gulf Coast hurricanes and California wildfires.

$250,000 for Job Training

• $250,000 for HARBEL Employment Training Program
  The funding will help an important initiative put together by this non-profit organization to connect job-seekers with businesses. HARBEL will develop training programs for the unemployed, underemployed, recovering substance abusers, first-time workers, displaced workers, ex-offenders, seniors, vets, and the disabled so they can acquire productive, self-sustaining employment.

$1.9 Million for Education

• $1 Million for Baltimore Excellence in Science Teaching Partnership
  The funding will expand collaborative programs to train teachers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields through a training program involving Towson University, Coppin State University and the Maryland BioLab.

• $100,000 Million for Minority Science Initiative
  The funding will expand the efforts of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund to recruit and encourage more minority students to pursue degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. The effort hopes to eventually expand the number of minority scientists within NASA, the national science labs, and the aerospace industry.

• $350,000 for Baltimore City Public School System Allied Health Careers Programs and Career Technology Education
  The funding will expand the successful Allied Health Careers Program at Baltimore City Public Schools, which helps students identify and explore health occupations and pursue healthy living. The money will enable the program to include an Allied Health Job Fair, a mentoring program, a Career Technology Education orientation program for eighth grade students, and internship opportunities.

• $100,000 for University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore City
  The funding will support continued growth of a workforce training center at the University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore City. This supports the revitalization of economically distressed neighborhoods in West Baltimore. The money will be used to teach workers specialized skills to prepare them for high paying jobs in the technology field and make infrastructure improvements at the BioPark. The UMB Research Park Corp, a 501(c)3, will provide a full match for the infrastructure portion of the requested funding.

• $350,000 for Anne Arundel Community College STEM
  The funding will enhance workforce training programs at Anne Arundel Community College to meet the needs of local businesses as well as prepare potential workers for the thousands of high-tech jobs that will be relocated to Fort Meade through the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision. The programs will focus on high-demand areas like Engineering and Computer Science as part of a STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, initiative.

$6.03 Million for BRAC

• $400,000 for Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
  This funding will expand the City of Baltimore’s efforts to build a continuous pool of qualified and skilled workers to help fill the thousands of high tech jobs that will moving to Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground through the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision.

• $2.75 Million for BRAC-Related Improvements in Anne Arundel County
  The funding will assist the Maryland State Highway Administration in making road, highway, and intersection improvements adjacent to Fort Meade in response to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) expansion.

• $2.88 Million for BRAC-Related Improvements in Harford County
  The funding will assist the Maryland State Highway Administration in making road, highway, and intersection improvements adjacent to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in response to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) expansion.

$4.2 Million for Transportation

• $3 Million for Baltimore Red Line
  The funding will help further develop Baltimore’s Red Line.

• $200,000 for College Park Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC)
  The funding will create a new multi-state cooperative initiative at the University of Maryland to expand on regional efforts to improve traffic and transportation systems in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

• $1 Million for Baltimore-Washington Parkway Study
  The funding will pay for a feasibility study to determine whether there is sufficient traffic volume to between the Washington and Baltimore Beltways to merit  road widening.