FY2023 Community Project Funding Requests
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger has submitted funding requests for important community projects in Maryland's Second District to the House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2023. Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee, each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community – although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.
In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Congressman Ruppersberger has certified that he, his spouse, and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested.
For more information about submitting a Community Project Funding request for future years, please call our Washington, DC, office at 202-225-3061. You can find general information about the process from the House Appropriations Committee here.
Please find Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding requests here.
Requests for FY2023:
Project: Sparrows Point/Broening Interchange Planning
Amount: $1,500,000
Recipient: Baltimore County Government, 400 Washington Avenue, Towson, Maryland 21204
Explanation of Request: Baltimore County is excited that its vision for the future of Sparrows Point, now home to Tradepoint Atlantic, a logistics center located on the former site of the Bethlehem Steel plant, which closed in 2012. MDOT-MDTA has supported this continued growth and redevelopment of Sparrows Point by investing $29,000,000 to reconstruct three bridges near the entrance of Tradepoint Atlantic. However, additional infrastructure improvements are needed in the area to support the increased industrial growth and traffic. These funds would support launching the initial planning of a full interchange at 1-695 and Exit 44 (Broening Highway). The Sparrows Point interchange would maximize the potential redevelopment activities at Tradepoint Atlantic, allow for truck avoidance of the toll plaza, and would reduce truck traffic impacting residential communities on Dundalk Avenue and Holabird Avenue. Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) has completed a point-to-point study for this project location. The Baltimore region is one of the 20 most congested areas in the United States. To mitigate congestion and by 2030, Maryland's population is projected to increase by 600,000 while passenger & truck traffic increase by 15-20 percent. Sparrows Point is a critical piece of the state's transportation growth and network, creating more well-paying jobs for all Maryland residents. Supporting the Sparrows Point/Broening interchange also helps the nearby community of Turner Station, who is currently impacted by the increased road activity. Turner Station, a historically black community, is also a federally designated Qualified Census Tract. Baltimore County's commitment to racial equity includes strategic investments into neighborhoods and communities that were once overlooked by governments and industry.
Subcommittee: Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Rosedale Veterans Initiative
Amount: $1,500,000
Recipient: Sheppard Pratt Health System, 6501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21204
Explanation of Request: Sheppard Pratt have identified the need for long term housing for veterans and their families as well as a facility to consolidate and expand our services to the veteran's community. Sheppard Pratt has initiated $21.4 million project on our Rosedale site to better serve the community. There are multiple components of the project, but the two focused specifically for veterans include:
- Provide 60 units of affordable housing for veterans and their families. The housing will consist of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and residents will receive rent subsidies based on their income.
- Provide a Veterans Hub and Community Center. This will serve as a one-stop shop for veterans in Baltimore County and will accommodate services to approximately 1,200 individuals. This facility will provide holistic veterans services such as employment training, wellness and health, housing, and legal assistance. In addition, it will also be available to other non-veteran populations we are serving and provide mental health, wellness, and recovery services to the community. This will include psychiatric rehabilitation programs, peer recovery services, occupational therapy, and developmental disability services.
This innovative project in Rosedale, Maryland, will serve veterans and other special needs populations through housing, on-site health services, a community center, and a green house. Through a proposed tax credit development, we aim to provide 60 units of green, healthy and affordable housing, with a special focus on veterans. Housing will be a mix of one-, two, and three-bedroom apartments. A Veterans Hub and Community Center will serve as a one-stop shop for veterans in Baltimore County, providing holistic veterans services that cover employment, training, wellness, housing, legal assistance, and more. In addition, we will provide mental health, wellness, and recovery services to Rosedale residents and the broader Rosedale community through a clinic, health home services, psychiatric rehabilitation program, peer recovery services, occupational therapy, and developmental disability services.
Subcommittee: Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Aberdeen Station Square
Amount: $4,000,000
Recipient: City of Aberdeen, 60 North Parke Street, Aberdeen, Maryland 21001
Explanation of Request: The City of Aberdeen is requesting funding for site acquisition and demolition, preliminary engineering and design, geotechnical services, and updated cost estimates for improvements to the Aberdeen Train Station. The Aberdeen Train Station is a multi-modal transportation center offering daily commuter service on Amtrak and Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) trains and the Harford Link Transit bus service. The proposed improvements will remove a physical and economic barrier separating the low-income residents, individuals with disabilities, and communities of color from U.S. Route 40, transportation, employment opportunities, and needed services. The proposed TOD/ Station Square improvements would be an investment in vital infrastructure assets, address capital needs to provide opportunities for families to achieve economic security and stability and promote resiliency through the redevelopment of the multi-modal transportation center. One of the most valuable assets in the City of Aberdeen, Maryland is its multi-modal transportation center.
Subcommittee: Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project: Triple Bridges Study
Amount: $10,000,000
Recipient: Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration, 21 Oldham Street, Baltimore, MD 21224
Explanation of Request: The I-695 Interchange Reconstruction at I-70 project, also known as the Triple Bridges project, is a critical, high-priority component of MDOT's Traffic Relief Plan to improve traffic operations in the Baltimore region. This 1960s interchange is functionally obsolete, which leads to congestion and travel delays. This project not only will improve mobility while maintaining all existing connections, but also address aging infrastructure by replacing bridge structures in the interchange. In addition, it will improve access to key employment centers in the vicinity, especially the Social Security Administration's Woodlawn complex. Preliminary engineering is ongoing with design-build procurement anticipated to begin in 2023-2024 and design-build activities in 2024-2025. MDOT SHA anticipates completing construction in 2028 or early 2029. Congressionally designated spending for the project will ensure, as preliminary engineering progresses, that MDOT SHA is readily able to fund construction without delay.
Subcommittee: Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Pre-Disaster Mitigation for Community-Centered Planning to Reduce Climate-Induced Flood Risks in Turner Station, Maryland
Amount: $2,000,000
Recipient: Baltimore County Government, 400 Washington Avenue, Towson, Maryland 21204
Explanation of Request: Federal funding in the amount of $2,000,000 is requested to conduct extensive modeling of future flooding scenarios under various storm intensities and combinations of green and grey infrastructure to better understand how best to reduce flood-risk in the historic African American community of Turner Station, Maryland. The impetus for this project is Army Corps of Engineers modeling of flood conditions in Turner Station for the 10-year storm event now and in 2080 under moderate climate change scenarios. Preliminary cost estimates for fully reducing flooding under this specific climate scenario may be cost prohibitive, so Baltimore County would like to do additional evaluative modeling and work with community members and stakeholders to plan for the right future scenario and the right mix of mitigation options. By working with community members and local stakeholders, Baltimore County will work to meet long-term risk reduction goals by evaluating different levels of Green and Grey Infrastructure projects and preliminary cost-estimates in order to fully inform future proposed actions.
Subcommittee: Homeland Security
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Community College of Baltimore County CDL-A Training Program
Amount: $721,130
Recipient: Community College of Baltimore County
Explanation of Request: The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) requests Congressionally Directed Spending to invest in the college's capacity to expand the current CDL-A training program. The request includes one-time costs such as the purchase of a tractor and a trailer for training, a straight truck with manual transmission for training, an office and classroom trailer expansion, and support to train students. The CDL program driving range is centrally located and within CCBC's Transportation Training Center at Tradepoint Atlantic. With Baltimore County being home to the third highest number of transportation, distribution, and logistics employers in Maryland, CCBC creates a pipeline of workers trained to meet regional in-demand jobs. CCBC would like to expand the program's capacity to support more women, veterans, and at-risk populations in need of a living wage career, and support the trucking industry. Currently, the college has outgrown its capacity to meet demand, and wait-listed students must wait 10 months to begin training.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Towson University Teacher Workforce Initiative
Amount: $950,000
Recipient: Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, Maryland 21252
Explanation of Request: As the decline in teaching degree production is more a product of lack of demand than capacity constraints, Towson University (TU) proposes to develop a campaign to recruit and incentivize students to enter the teaching profession. This proposal will prioritize first generation and underrepresented students for recruitment and training to become future teachers in the State of Maryland. This project aims to address Maryland's teacher shortage by increasing the number of graduates of TU's nationally recognized education programs. By targeting career changers through our Master's in Teaching (MAT) program and undergraduate transfer students, TU aims to turn the invested funds into qualified teacher candidates with a short turnaround time. This project would provide full tuition and fees for 20 career changer students to enter our one-year MAT program and become certified teachers. The project would also fund 25 undergraduate transfer students with Associate of Arts in Teaching degree from Maryland community colleges with full tuition, housing and board for one year, cutting their total costs to get the degree in half. Through these investments, TU would produce 40-45 new teachers in the next two years. Additionally, $10,000 of the request will be used in support of enrollment marketing and recruitment initiatives to promote these grant programs.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: National Aquarium Statewide Conservation Educational Programming
Amount: $401,615
Recipient: National Aquarium, 501 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Explanation of Request: The National Aquarium is requesting $401,615 in Community Project Funding for statewide conservation educational programming. Specifically, the National Aquarium is seeking support for the following programs: Terrapins in the Classroom; AquaPartners; outreach programs; and professional development for instructors. Public support would allow the National Aquarium to reduce barriers to access for these educational programs, including fees, to increase access to schools who are currently unable to participate. In a typical year, these programs serve more than 13,000 participants and cost around $30 per participant. One quarter of program participants come from schools located in Qualified Census Tracts, as defined by Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. In District 2 alone, these programs serve more than 2,600 participants.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: MedStar Curtis National Hand Center
Amount: $1,500,000
Recipient: MedStar Curtis National Hand Center, 3333 North Calvert Street, Suite 200, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital Johnston Professional Building, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
Explanation of Request: MedStar Curtis National Hand Center has plans to fully renovate the second-floor clinical area of their hand center. Completely transforming this space, the leading-edge design will incorporate industry proven features that result in improved patient flow, better patient outcomes, higher associate and patient satisfaction, enhanced teaching oversight of civilian and military fellows and technological advancements in this medical subspecialty. The proposed new design will incorporate well lighted, open spaces that feature comfortable furniture and relaxing art with a larger, well-appointed patient and family area, a more efficient and logical layout, and optimized workspaces that utilize X-ray, ultrasound and fluoroscopy equipment.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Equipping Goucher College's New Life Sciences & Health Sciences Teaching Labs
Amount: $1,275,000
Recipient: Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson, Maryland 21204
Explanation of Request: This equipment will enhance interdisciplinary approaches to learning and help to ensure that our graduates in the life sciences and health sciences will be well prepared to enter the workforce or pursue advanced degree programs in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, neuroscience, medicine, dentistry, and nursing. Enhanced classroom laboratory and technical equipment in our expanded and upgraded teaching labs will allow us to double the number of students we can admit into our biology, biochemistry, chemistry, neuroscience, pre-nursing, and pre-med programs as well as our highly ranked post-baccalaureate pre-med program. Enhanced classroom laboratory and technical equipment will increase the number of both domestic and international high achieving students that Goucher can attract as a net importer of talent to the State of Maryland.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Ashley Addiction Treatment
Amount: $420,000
Recipient: Ashely, Inc., 800 Tydings Lane, Havre de Grace, Maryland 21078
Explanation of Request: This Ashley Addiction Treatment program would develop and deliver educational programs directed to middle and high school students in Harford County, Maryland. Ashley would work with local Boards of Education to coordinate the delivery of these programs to young people who need to learn the impacts of drug use on their health. Allocated funding would be used to develop the curriculum, hire staff, and measure the results.
Subcommittee: Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Baltimore Police Department License Plate Readers
Amount: $1,300,000
Recipient: Baltimore Police Department, 601 East Fayette Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Explanation of Request: The importance of Baltimore City to the rest of Maryland cannot be overstated. It is not just its largest city but also the geographic, economic, and cultural center of the state. However, it has also been experiencing exceedingly high and historic levels of crime and violence. This has reverberations throughout the city and the rest of the state. The license plate reader (LPR) technology will not by itself reduce crime or violence in the city and elsewhere. However, it will give the BPD one more tool with which to address it. The proposed purchase of mobile LPRswill be deployed throughout the City of Baltimore and will solve crimes that tend to overwhelmingly impact Baltimore's most underserved communities.
Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Morgan State University Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Amount: $2,000,000
Recipient: Morgan State University, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Maryland 21251
Explanation of Request: The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has accelerated the adoption and integration of new innovations into many frontiers, such as automobiles, banking, and insurance. By design, machine learning (ML) can reveal patterns that are difficult for human beings to uncover, which is done by analyzing data efficiently and accumulating knowledge gained from previous learnings. However, the accuracy of AI/ML algorithms could be affected by many factors, one of the most destructive being, unintentional and intentional prejudices or biases. AI algorithms and models are trained by discovering patterns in datasets larger than humans could sensibly process on their own. Often these algorithms discover the bias in existing decision-making and then further perpetuate, systematize, and extend these biases. The interdisciplinary Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) at Morgan State University (MSU) will specialize in the mitigation of algorithmic bias through continuous research and engagement of academic and industrial leaders. The center will conduct research on how to improve transparency and explainability in AI models, develop new tools and techniques for detecting bias and reducing the disparate impact caused, develop adversarial tools to stress-test models. Essentially, the Center will tackle complex data projects related to the development, deployment and verification of socially responsible and equitable AI. In order to facilitate this mission, the Center will need cutting edge equipment and resources for developing and training new AI models, deploying and testing these models on various hardware and software platforms, and working with the community to guide research priorities and disseminate findings.
Subcommittee: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Egg Shaped Digesters Rehabilitation Initiative
Amount: $4,000,000
Recipient: Baltimore City Department of Public Works, 8201 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.
Explanation of Request: The Egg-Shaped Digester project affects all of Baltimore City as the improvements will advance the overall quality of our wastewater infrastructure as well as the quality of water flowing back into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The improvements are also necessary to address treatment concerns and violations from MDE which will allow DPW to ensure compliance with the effluent limits at the Back River Treatment Plant. Successful completion of the Egg Shaped Digesters will result in a more efficient and effective removal of solids during the treatment process to minimize contaminants and other hazardous material from entering nearby waterways and ultimately disrupting the region's natural resources. Failure of the digester system would eventually result in degradation of treatment and jeopardize meeting effluent limits. Degradation to our treatment processes directly affects the quality of our water and thereby the wildlife and vegetation that depend on it and consequently many regional industries that bolster Maryland's economies such as fishing and tourism. A declining economy will undoubtedly affect Maryland's and Baltimore's most underserved and disadvantaged communities by continuing to limit economic opportunities for individuals as well as cause hesitation to invest in areas with frequent environmental risks and concerns. The project will combat this directly by also helping to create and retain construction jobs as personnel will be needed to replace the gas mixers as well as maintain them in the future.
Subcommittee: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Certification Letter Available Here
Project Name: Test Maintenance Fabrication Facility
Amount: $76,000,000
Recipient: U.S. Army
Explanation of Request: This request supports the construction of a much-needed Test Maintenance Fabrication Facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The current test fabrication facility was built in 1918 and no longer meets the requirements of modern tactical vehicles and equipment. This project provides an adequately sized, modern, secure facility to house fabrication equipment, including computer controlled cutting and welding machines and testing equipment. Funding is requested by the Army starting in Fiscal Year 2024, my office is seeking funds to immediately start this construction project due to concerns the project will continuously be delayed.
Subcommittee: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies