Fiscal Year 2010 Maryland Funding Requests Below are links to each bill that includes a request made by Senator Mikulski for federal funding in Maryland. The leadership of the Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees will now consider these requests and decide which will receive federal funding. After these bills are approved by the Committees, then passed by both the House and the Senate, they are sent to the President to be signed into law. Funds become available to Maryland when these steps have been completed.
SENATOR MIKULSKI'S FUNDING REQUESTS FOR MARYLAND
Financial Services and General Government Bill
Posted on April 30, 2009
Armed Services Bill
Posted on May 1, 2009
Agriculture Bill
Posted on May 8, 2009
Commerce, Justice and Science Bill
Posted on May 8, 2009
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Bill
Posted on May 15, 2009
Defense Bill
Posted on May 15, 2009
Interior and Environment Bill
Posted on May 15, 2009
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Bill
Posted on May 15, 2009
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill
Posted on May 15, 2009
Energy and Water Development Bill
Posted on May 22, 2009
Financial Services and General Government Bill
FDA White Oak Consolidation
Recipient: General Services Administration
Address: 1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405
Amount: $300 million
The consolidation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) laboratories onto one campus in Silver Spring, Maryland will greatly improve FDA’s ability to fulfill its public health mission. It also will increase operating efficiencies at FDA which will save the taxpayers money. This funding will complete construction of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research building which will conduct critical anti-terror and anti-pandemic research. It also will be used to complete the remaining construction work on the campus. This funding will support 1,000 construction jobs for three years. When the project is completed, it will support 9,000 FDA jobs.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Recipient: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Address: 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Amount: $150 million
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was created in 1966 primarily to serve the federal government. Many metro stations were built at the federal government’s request and nearly half of all stations are located at federal facilities. Today, federal employees are 40% of WMATA’s peak ridership and millions more use the system daily to work, play and visit our Nation’s Capital. The transit system also plays a critical role in keeping the federal government running during an emergency. The system is operating at capacity and is in urgent need of capital investment to provide safe and reliable service. The requested funding (authorized by Public Law 110-432) will buy rail cars, buses, facilities and infrastructure that will improve system performance and meet growing demand. It also will save or create approximately 7,140 jobs.
CSM Jerome M. Grollman Readiness Center
Recipient: Maryland Army National Guard
Address: 2101 North Point Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21222
Amount: $16.07 million
This funding will replace the Guard’s readiness facility in Dundalk, which is 43 years old, dilapidated, and in need of repair. The current building doesn’t meet the basic needs of the Guardsmen who train there. The roof leaks, the kitchen and classroom facilities are substandard and out of date, the existing storage space cannot house all of the Guard’s equipment, and the center lacks adequate shower and locker room facilities – particularly for female service members. The Guard Readiness Center at Dundalk is home to more than 300 Maryland National Guard personnel and several other units are stationed within ten miles. We must ensure that these soldiers have the proper training facilities to prepare for their missions, safeguard and maintain their equipment, and plan for future operations.
Advanced Chemistry Laboratory
Recipient: Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center
Address: 5183 Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010
Amount: $14.8 million
This funding will complete the final phase of the Advanced Chemical Laboratory construction at the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC). The current facilities lack modern filtration systems, electrical power, and environmental control systems necessary to support state-of-the-art lab instrumentation. By moving the researchers out of outdated 1950s-era facilities into a larger facility with safer and more modern equipment and better safety systems, we will give them the tools they need to protect our troops. This new facility will increase the capability of the ECBC as a national focal point for research and development in chemical and biological warfare. This will also contribute to the counter-terrorism efforts of the intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other non-defense partners that draw on the ECBC’s expertise and capability.
Advanced Energetics Research Lab Complex (Phase 2)
Recipient: Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center
Address: 3767 Strauss Avenue, Building 20, Indian Head, MD 20640
Amount: $16.46 million
The Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center is home to the largest concentration of munitions experts in the United States. Indian Head engineers helped develop the Navy’s Tomahawk missile, which was used to strike targets in Afghanistan during U.S.-led attacks on the Taliban in 2001. This funding will advance the construction of a new research center by consolidating work presently scattered across 19 different buildings into a single, more modern facility. Current buildings are antiquated, have outdated electrical systems, and lack isolation against environmental interference. This new facility will provide the tools and capabilities Indian Head engineers and scientists need to support U.S. military missions around the world.
National Naval Medical Center Transportation Improvements
Recipient: National Naval Medical Center
Address: 8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20889
Amount: $40 million
The National Naval Medical Center is undergoing an unprecedented expansion as it prepares to absorb the functions of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which was slated to close as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. When complete, more than 10,000 people will go to work on the campus of the new hospital each day and more than 4,000 patient visits will occur daily. Traffic congestion on access roads to the hospital can make it very difficult for patients to make their appointments and for the staff who provide care to get to their jobs. This funding will construct a pedestrian underpass that will allow patients and staff to safely and quickly cross the six-lane road between the Metro station and the NNMC entrance.
back to top
Agriculture Bill
Poultry Disease Research
Recipient: Beltsville Agricultureal Research Center
Address: 10300 Baltimore Boulevard, Beltsville, MD 20705
Amount: $400,000
Poultry is the largest segment of Maryland’s agriculture industry. Maryland’s Eastern Shore is home to about 900 chicken farms and three processing plants. The industry also accounts for about 33 percent of Maryland’s cash farm income. Nationally, one single poultry disease can cost the industry almost $3 billion annually. Researchers at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center are examining the genetics of various poultry diseases to understand which chickens are most susceptible and develop methods of improving disease prevention and control. The requested funding will pay for salaries, equipment and supplies to continue this research.
Plant Vaccine Research
Recipient: Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
Address: 10300 Baltimore Boulevard, Beltsville, MD 20705
Amount: $1.7 million
Plants can be used as engines to manufacture vaccines and other pharmaceuticals for animals and humans. This funding will continue research into developing plants capable of producing higher levels of healthy vitamins and nutrients, for example, increasing antioxidants found in berries. Researchers at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center also are working on introducing new compounds into plants, including vaccines that protect human health. The requested funding will be used for salaries and supplies to continue this research.
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Buildings and Facilities
Recipient: Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
Address: 10300 Baltimore Boulevard, Beltsville, MD 20705
Amount: $3 million
The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, Maryland is the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service’s flagship research facility. Next year, BARC will celebrate its centennial. It currently employs almost 975 federal employees, including 249 scientists. These scientists conduct research that is both critical to our farm economy and to the health and nutrition of all Americans. The Center consists of almost 7,000 acres and more than 500 buildings or structures. Today, BARC has a deferred maintenance backlog of several hundred millions of dollars. Its annual repair and maintenance budget has remained at just $2.32 million since 1993. This level of funding has not kept up with BARC’s needs. As a result, BARC has been forced to cut its research activities to cover these expenses. The requested funding will help reduce BARC’s maintenance backlog and keep its critical research budget whole. The requested funding will be used to upgrade energy savings systems, repair heating and cooling systems critical to research labs, and repair roofs.
Commerce, Justice and Science Bill
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System
Recipient: NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
Location: 410 Severn Ave., Suite 107A, Annapolis, MD 21403
Amount: $500,000
The Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, which marks the John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, is a network of high technology environmental buoys that provide real-time data and analysis for scientists, natural resource specialists, educators, and boaters. Requested funding will support education and outreach activities, while adding two new buoys to the network and maintaining existing buoys.
Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration
Recipient: NOAA
Location: 1805A Virginia Street, Annapolis, MD 21041
Amount: $2,000,000
Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration is supported by the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a unique program that conducts the hands-on work restoring once productive oyster bars and creating new habitats in the Chesapeake Bay. Funding is needed to restore the Bay’s native oyster populations into a healthy and sustainable fishery. Funds will be used to clean oyster shells, harvest spat and redistribute oysters in designated areas, which generates jobs for watermen and supports watermen in their transition to self-sustaining aquaculture enterprises.
Integrating Climate Change into the Restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and Watershed
Recipients: University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES)
Locations: UMCES Chesapeake Biological Lab, P.O. Box 38, Solomons, MD 20688
UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
Amount: $3,000,000
This program, which is a collaboration between UMCES, UMBC, NASA and NOAA, supports research to understand and predict the effects of climate and land-use changes on the Bay and its watershed. Funding will provide models and data for guiding water resource and restoration challenges facing Maryland, such as developing improved strategies for reducing runoff of nutrients and sediments into the Chesapeake Bay. The research will result in tools and products that will allow communities, businesses and government agencies to make better long-term decisions about coastal development and resource management.
Maryland Center of Excellence for Terahertz Science and Application
Recipient: University of Maryland Baltimore County
Location: 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
Amount: $2,000,000
Terahertz technology, which uses radiation wavelengths between infrared light and microwaves, is an emerging technology that has important opportunities for medical imaging, national security, and communication. Terahertz rays are not dangerous, unlike x-rays, and can penetrate mail, packages and clothing to identify concealed threats. Medically, the technology will allow for better and more accurate diagnosis of several types of cancers. Funding is requested to support the first year of the Maryland Center of Excellence for Terahertz Science and Application, which will research techniques to control and manipulate this unique radiation, and develop new tools and devices for industry to use terahertz technology.
Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Recipient: Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Location: P.O. Box 519, Grasonville, MD 21638
Amount: $250,000
The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center promotes environmental stewardship through education, restoration and conservation as part of a 510-acre reserve that impacts school groups from all over the Bay region and beyond. For the past 30 years, the Center has been self-sustainable, relying on contributions, donations and memberships, but the recent economic downturn has created a financial gap leading to insufficient staff and materials to meet the needs of the schools expected to visit the facility. Funding will bridge this temporary gap by supporting restoration and education activities at the Center for one year.
Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System
Recipient: Susquehanna River Basin Commission
Location: 1721 N. Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
Amount: $2,400,000
The Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System, administered by the National Weather Service, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, provides timely warnings to residents of the Susquehanna River basin to reduce loss of life and property damage during flood events. Funding will support the flood warning infrastructure – a network of gauges, radar and computer technology – to provide advanced flood warning information to communities along the river.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Baltimore City Gun Violence Reduction Initiative
Recipient: Baltimore City Police Department
Location: 242 West 29th Street, Baltimore, MD 21211-2908
Request: $1,100,000
Violent crime has decreased in Baltimore, but gun violence remains a serious problem. The Gun Violence Reduction Initiative aims to substantially reduce shootings and homicides in Baltimore City through a multi-faceted approach to reducing violent crime. This includes timely gathering and dissemination of gang and crime analysis, targeted enforcement and prosecution of violent offenders through Baltimore EXILE, and suppression of gun trafficking under Baltimore’s multi-jurisdictional Gun Trace Task Force. Funds will be used to hire dedicated crime analysts to research and track known violent offenders, hire support personnel to develop case files for EXILE prosecutions, implement technology enhancements to better track gun offenders and collect gun trace data, and support police resources dedicated to the Gun Trace Task Force and Baltimore EXILE. This will lead to a reduction in violent activity in the City of Baltimore.
Baltimore County 9-1-1 Center Communications and Equipment Upgrades
Recipient: Baltimore County Executive Office
Location: 400 Washington Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
Request: $3,000,000
Baltimore County is replacing its 9-1-1 Communications Center, which handles 900,000 emergency and non-emergency calls annually and centralizes dispatch to police, fire and other emergency services. The existing Center does not meet modern security guidelines for critical infrastructure and facilities. Funds will assist in acquiring upgraded phone, radio and computer systems, and allow for seamless communication with the Regional Back-Up 9-1-1 Center. Equipment upgrades will enhance security and continuity of operations and expand communications capabilities, which will allow Baltimore County first responders to be more effective when responding to emergency situations.
Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation At-Risk Youth Mentoring Programs
Recipient: Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation
Location: 1427 Clarkview Road, Suite 100, Baltimore, MD 21209
Request: $1,000,000
In communities where crime rates are highest and the need is greatest, there is a consistent lack of mentors and coaches who care about kids’ well-being and growth. Few are offered opportunities to participate in competitive or instructional after school programs or activities, or simply to play safely outside. Cal Ripken, Sr., Foundation programs are now running in more than 40 states, in more than 250 communities. The Foundation provides at-risk kids with a safe learning environment focused on healthy lifestyles, leadership and character development. Funds will be used for delinquency prevention and outreach efforts aimed at disadvantaged youth, with the greatest emphasis given to the highest crime areas.
Girl Scouts Beyond Bars (GSBB)
Recipient: Girl Scouts of the USA
Location: 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
Request: $1,000,000
Created by the Girl Scouts of Maryland, Girl Scouts Beyond Bars provides thousands of girls through roughly 40 local Girl Scout Councils in more than 30 states an opportunity to visit their incarcerated mothers to take part in mother/daughter Girl Scout troop meetings. Through GSBB, mothers lead troop meetings and develop skills in leadership, conflict resolution and parenting, all of which are critical to their success in family life and employment after incarceration. Girls and their mothers also have facilitated discussions about family life, violence and drug abuse prevention. Funds will also be used to support the Girl Scouts in Detention Centers, which provide girls who have been adjudicated, are wards of the court, or are court-referred delinquents, with opportunities to participate in activities that help them cultivate a positive value system, a strong social conscience and critical life-skills needed to become healthy, productive women.
Hagerstown Police Department Technology and Equipment Upgrades
Recipient: City of Hagerstown
Location: 1 East Franklin Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740
Request: $900,000
Hagerstown’s current law enforcement radio system is over 30 years old and does not allow for full communications between the City and Washington County, creating inefficiencies in the urban and rural public safety systems. Funds will allow the City to incorporate its system into the Washington County system by supporting the replacement of 130 disparate and aging law enforcement radios. This will allow the Hagerstown Police Department to participate in the new county-wide communications system, which is the best way to ensure complete and full interoperability. Equipping local law enforcement agencies to interact over compatible communications systems is essential to making communities in Western Maryland safer.
Harford County Public Safety Communications Technology Upgrades
Recipient: Harford County
Location: 220 South Main Street, Bel Air, MD 21014
Request: $750,000
Providing for public safety needs requires that police, fire and other emergency and non-emergency personnel have a reliable and compatible communications system. Advances in technology have placed an increased dependence on the sharing of data, images and video. As a result, interoperable communications functioning across jurisdictions is a critical component of emergency preparedness. To address this, Harford County is replacing communications hardware and software, as well as upgrading the network infrastructure to improve bandwidth. Funds will be used to purchase wireless radio equipment and implement a mixed bandwidth system designed to allow for interoperability among all Harford County government entities.
Initiative to Deploy Judges Trained in Forensic Science and Technology Law
Recipient: Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center, Inc. (ASTAR)
Location: 5505 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20015
Request: $500,000
Resource judges preside in specialized, complex cases featuring novel and emerging scientific evidence and issues. Funding will provide 500 ASTAR-trained judges from courts across the country with continuing judicial science and technology education as well as technical assistance.
Jericho Workforce Development Initiative for Ex-Offenders
Recipient: Episcopal Community Services of Maryland
Location: 1014 West 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21211
Request: $750,000
Approximately 9,000 released prisoners return to Baltimore without jobs or adjunct services to keep them from returning to criminal activities and jail. The Jericho Re-entry Program will expand its workforce development programs in Baltimore City in the areas of education, job training, employment readiness, placement and retention of ex-offenders, and partnerships with area employers to create family supportable wages for adult, male ex-offenders. Funding will expand the scale of work from 140 to 480 men served a year.
Kennedy Krieger Institute Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Program at Fort Meade
Recipient: Kennedy Krieger Institute
Location: 707 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205
Request: $500,000
Children with one or more parents serving in the military are often at-risk for behavior problems, child abuse and neglect due to the constant stress on the family that comes with having a parent deployed and in harm’s way. About 4,000 children live at Fort Meade. Juvenile delinquency prevention services available there are heavily focused on the unique needs of the active duty soldier, leaving at-risk children on base as an underserved population. Early intervention for childhood behavior problems is crucial in preventing future drug use, delinquency, violence and incarceration. The Kennedy Krieger Institute will work with Fort Meade families on developing positive parent-child relationships and strong family cohesiveness, which have been shown to decrease a child’s risk for abuse and neglect as well as successfully address juvenile delinquency problems. Funding will be used to provide at-risk children with early intervention and prevention services and to divert them from future involvement in the juvenile justice system.
Maryland Association of Youth Services Bureaus
Recipient: Maryland Association of Youth Services Bureaus
Location: 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Request: $1,000,000
Established in the early 1970s, Youth Service Bureaus provide delinquency intervention and prevention services to at-risk youths and families in 10 Maryland counties. The Bureaus serve thousands of young people through counseling, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, substance abuse assessment and referral, and community-based educational services, but they are still unable to meet the demand for delinquency prevention services. An expansion would strengthen and increase the availability of prevention and diversion services to young people statewide. Funds will expand existing direct services to keep youths engaged in school, reduce substance abuse, reduce violence, and solidify family support.
Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers
Recipient: Latin American Youth Center
Location: 1419 Columbia Road, NW, Washington, DC 20009
Request: $750,000
The Latin American Youth Center’s Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers assist in the prevention and intervention of gang violence for more than 1,000 at-risk children, teens and young adults in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. Funds will be used to expand the Centers’ programs for drug prevention and treatment, family support and counseling, after-school tutoring and mentoring, GED classes and college preparation, and workforce training.
Northwest Baltimore Prisoner Re-entry Program
Recipient: City of Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
Location: 417 East Fayette Street, Suite 468, Baltimore, MD 21202
Request: $500,000
More than 15,000 men and women exit Maryland’s prison system each year. Of those, roughly 9,000 return to Baltimore, making it home to the most densely populated geographic distribution of returning ex-inmates in Maryland. More than 40 percent of Baltimore’s unemployed ex-offenders recidivate within 12 months of release. Employment diminishes the likelihood of an ex-offender being re-arrested, reconvicted and re-incarcerated. Funding will increase ex-offender enrollment and enhance services at the Re-entry Center in northwest Baltimore. It will specifically fund a a one-stop shop focused on serving the ex-offender population.
NASA
Baltimore Excellence in Science Teaching (BEST) Partnership
Recipients: Towson University
Coppin State University
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Locations: Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252
Coppin State University, 2500 West North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 701 East Pratt Street, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21202
Request: $1,000,000
The BEST Partnership meets two important needs. First, it addresses a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers nationally and in Maryland. Second, it addresses U.S. students ranking below students in most developed nations in science. BEST partnership institutions will recruit and train STEM teachers, and then help place them in Maryland’s classrooms to provide high quality science education to Maryland’s students.
Chesapeake Information Based Aeronautics Consortium (CIBAC)
Recipients: Morgan State University
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Bowie State University
Location: 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore MD 21251
Request: $3,000,000
CIBAC is a partnership of Morgan State University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Bowie State University. The consortium meets three important needs. First, the consortium conducts research into how to make airplanes safer by developing new technologies to help pilots avoid accidents. Second, minorities are under-represented in science and technology fields. The consortium attracts minority undergraduates who may be thinking about engineering as a profession by offering a clear and promising career path. Third, the consortium helps create new technologies and new jobs in Maryland.
Teach for America STEM Activities
Recipient: Teach for America
Location: 315 West 36th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Request: $2,000,000 $3,000,000
Teach for America meets two important needs. First, it addresses a shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers nationally and in Maryland. Second, it addresses U.S. students ranking below students in most developed nations in science. Teach for America will recruit and train STEM teachers, and then help place them in classrooms to provide high quality science education to students. Funds will be used to engage teachers nationwide in STEM activities to attract, educate, recruit and retain our next generation of scientists and engineers.
back to top
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Bill
CSM Jerome M. Grollman Readiness Center
Recipient: Maryland Army National Guard
Address: 2101 North Point Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21222
Amount: $16.07 million
This funding will replace the Guard’s readiness facility in Dundalk, which is 43 years old, dilapidated, and in need of repair. The current building doesn’t meet the basic needs of the Guardsmen who train there. The roof leaks, the kitchen and classroom facilities are substandard and out of date, the existing storage space cannot house all of the Guard’s equipment, and the center lacks adequate shower and locker room facilities – particularly for female service members. The Guard Readiness Center at Dundalk is home to more than 300 Maryland National Guard personnel and several other units are stationed within ten miles. We must ensure that these soldiers have the proper training facilities to prepare for their missions, safeguard and maintain their equipment, and plan for future operations.
Advanced Chemistry Laboratory
Recipient: Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center
Address: 5183 Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010
Amount: $14.8 million
This funding will complete the final phase of the Advanced Chemical Laboratory construction at the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center (ECBC). The current facilities lack modern filtration systems, electrical power, and environmental control systems necessary to support state-of-the-art lab instrumentation. By moving the researchers out of outdated 1950s-era facilities into a larger facility with safer and more modern equipment and better safety systems, we will give them the tools they need to protect our troops. This new facility will increase the capability of the ECBC as a national focal point for research and development in chemical and biological warfare. This will also contribute to the counter-terrorism efforts of the intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and other non-defense partners that draw on the ECBC’s expertise and capability.
Advanced Energetics Research Lab Complex (Phase 2)
Recipient: Indian Head Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center
Address: 3767 Strauss Avenue, Building 20, Indian Head, MD 20640
Amount: $16.46 million
The Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center is home to the largest concentration of munitions experts in the United States. Indian Head engineers helped develop the Navy’s Tomahawk missile, which was used to strike targets in Afghanistan during U.S.-led attacks on the Taliban in 2001. This funding will advance the construction of a new research center by consolidating work presently scattered across 19 different buildings into a single, more modern facility. Current buildings are antiquated, have outdated electrical systems, and lack isolation against environmental interference. This new facility will provide the tools and capabilities Indian Head engineers and scientists need to support U.S. military missions around the world.
National Naval Medical Center Transportation Improvements
Recipient: National Naval Medical Center
Address: 8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20889
Amount: $40 million
The National Naval Medical Center is undergoing an unprecedented expansion as it prepares to absorb the functions of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which was slated to close as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. When complete, more than 10,000 people will go to work on the campus of the new hospital each day and more than 4,000 patient visits will occur daily. Traffic congestion on access roads to the hospital can make it very difficult for patients to make their appointments and for the staff who provide care to get to their jobs. This funding will construct a pedestrian underpass that will allow patients and staff to safely and quickly cross the six-lane road between the Metro station and the NNMC entrance.
back to top
Defense Bill
Chemical and Biological Protective Shelter
Recipient: Smiths Detection
Address: 2202 Lakeside Blvd, Edgewood, MD 21040
Amount: $5 million
The National Guard has an unfunded need for more than 300 Chemical and Biological Protective Shelters (CBPS). The CBPS is on the Army National Guard’s Top 25 equipment modernization shortfall list. When our troops go overseas, they face an enemy that may resort to deadly and invisible chemical and biological weapons. We must protect them from these threats. CBPS is a self-contained protection vehicle that meets this need. It provides a sealed, temperature controlled space for medical and support personnel to provide care on a contaminated battle field without having to wear bulky and restrictive chemical warfare protective clothing. This will enhance the National Guard’s homeland security capability and allow Guard units to more easily go overseas with active duty military units already equipped with the CBPS.
Fuel Cell Hybrid Battery Manufacturing for Defense Operations
Recipient: Ballard Power Systems
Address: 9215 51st Avenue, College Park, MD 20742
Amount: $1 million
Our military is constantly striving to become lighter, faster, and less reliant on fossil fuels. This is driving the need for new and innovative mobile power sources that are easy to put in service and can serve multiple applications. This funding will support the development and testing of a fuel cell hybrid battery for use in military applications. This will allow our military to save fuel and reduce the size and weight of large batteries that are in virtually every vehicle throughout our armed forces.
Installation Processing Node, Phase IIa
Recipient: Aberdeen Proving Ground
Address: 2201 Aberdeen Blvd, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005
Amount: $3.6 million
The Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is adding more than 8,000 new military and civilian positions as a result of Base Realignment and Closure. APG is assuming an expanded role as the primary maintenance and engineering command for all of the Army’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. Information processing capacity at APG must be more than doubled to accommodate the expansion. Current information processing facilities at APG are spread across multiple antiquated buildings and lack the capacity to support 187 new information technology related positions that must be added. This funding will renovate several buildings at APG to create a consolidated Directorate of Information Management. This is needed to ensure new commands have the computing power to support soldiers in the field.
LISA Man Portable Sensors for Dismounted Reconnaissance
Recipient: ITT Advanced Engineering and Sciences
Address: 1311 Continental Drive, Abington, MD 21009
Amount: $2.5 million
Our military forces are facing a proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorist threats. Soldiers on the battlefield use specialized detectors to assess potential chemical and biological threats. Existing detectors must come into physical contact with hazardous material, causing the soldier to be in close proximity to potentially lethal threats. This funding will help develop a portable detector to allow soldiers to identify chemical agents, industrial chemicals, and explosive threats from further away. This will improve our soldiers’ safety and ability to respond to and assess WMD threats.
Maryland Proof of Concept Alliance for Defense Technologies
Recipient: University System of Maryland
Address: 3300 Metzerott Road, Adelphi, MD 20783
Amount: $2 million
The Maryland Proof of Concept Alliance (PCA) takes technological and scientific breakthroughs in Maryland’s university and federal labs and translates them into tools that keep soldiers safe and help them complete their missions. When promising technologies are identified, they are transitioned from the exploratory development and applied research phases into more advanced stages where they can be commercialized and mass produced. This not only ensures our soldiers have the best tools available; it also facilitates collaborative research opportunities for the vast array of talent in Maryland’s university system and other federal labs with the DOD scientific community.
Military Family Empowerment Initiative
Recipient: Samueli Institute
Address: 1737 King Street, Suite 600 Alexandria, VA 22314
Amount: $1.0 million
Our wounded soldiers and their families have suffered greatly, not only from physical wounds, but also from the stress of coping with the resulting life changes that stem from caring for a severely wounded family member. Family-empowered care is an approach to planning and delivering health care in a partnership between health care providers, patients, and families that restores patient dignity and a sense of control. This funding will develop an initiative to provide military family members with specific skill training to help them manage stress of transition to caring for a critically wounded family member.
Mobile Diabetes Management System
Recipient: Welldoc
Address: 1501 St. Paul Street, Suite 118, Baltimore, MD 21202
Amount: $1.0 million
Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects many Americans. It is one of the biggest costs to our health care system and affects a staggering number of military personnel and veterans. This program seeks to engage several hundred DOD health care system enrollees with diabetes in a real time monitoring program to improve treatment outcomes. Using cell phones to capture real-time data and analysis, patients will have instant behavioral feedback information to help them avoid acute episodes of the disease. Analysis will be used to generate physician action plans and alert primary care physicians to trends to improve therapy methods. This funding will result in a long-term cost savings to the military health care system by allowing patients to better manage this chronic disease.
NAE Interoperability with Carrier and Expeditionary Group Forces
Recipient: Patuxent River Surface and Aviation Interoperability Laboratory
Address: Patuxent River, MD 20670
Amount: $5 million
Rapid communications between ships, airplanes and troops on the battlefield is critical to ensuring our military can accomplish its mission and protect itself from threats. The Patuxent River Surface and Aviation Interoperability (SAIL) facility is the U.S. Navy’s premier facility for testing and developing new command and control systems for Navy ships and aircraft. This funding will update the SAIL facility with the Navy’s Ship Self Defense System, allowing a wider range of simulations and test scenarios. This will improve the interoperability of communications systems of the Navy’s aircraft carrier battle groups which are the centerpiece of the U.S. naval power overseas.
Omni Directional Relay and Conformal Antenna
Recipient: L3 Communications
Address: 22290 Exploration Drive, Lexington Park, MD 20653
Amount: $2.5 million
Special Operations troops fighting in extremely rugged regions of the world sometimes experience trouble with line-of-site communications systems in mountainous regions. The omni-directional relay and conformal antenna is a light weight communications relay system that solves this problem. This funding will be used to develop a newer low-profile antenna to be mounted on unmanned aerial drones. This will provide safer and more effective communications for our special operations troops in mountainous areas of the world like Afghanistan.
Real-Time Tactical Intelligence Collection System
Recipient: Voxtec International
Address: 20 Ridgely Avenue, Suite 301, Annapolis, MD 21401
Amount: $1.5 million
Our military is still grappling with a critical shortage of translators. Every day soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan must work around language barriers to interact with the civilian population of those countries. Gaining their trust may be the difference between accomplishing their mission or finding out about a potential threat from a nearby sniper or improvised explosive device that could save their lives. The lack of qualified translators and linguists is a tremendous challenge in this effort. The funding will improve existing language translation equipment by adding larger vocabularies and more translation capability. This will allow soldiers to overcome language barriers despite the shortage of translators.
Special Operations Forces Modular Glove System
Recipient: W.L. Gore & Associates
Address: 105 Vieve’s Way, Elkton, MD 21921
Amount: $2 million
The Special Operations command identified a requirement for a new modular glove system in 2008 to provide a higher level of protection in extreme cold weather environments. The modular five layer modular glove system provides a new level of protection from extreme cold. The glove system is also flame resistant to improve survivability in the event of contact with flames during an IED attack. This funding will accelerate the fielding of the five layer glove system to ensure that troops operating in extreme environments like Afghanistan are properly equipped to do their mission.
Spinel Tactical Armor Manufacturing Technologies
Recipients: Technology Assessment & Transfer, 133 Defense Hwy, Annapolis, MD 21401
Amount: $1 million
Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan rely on extremely heavy armored vehicles to keep them safe from IEDs and roadside bombs. There is a real need to make armored vehicles lighter to improve mobility and reduce wear and tear on frames on shocks from carrying thousands of pounds of armor. This funding will support the production of lighter weight, blast resistant windows and windshields that will bring down vehicle weight without compromising ballistic protection for our soldiers.
Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flight in National Airspace
Recipient: AAI
Address: 124 Industry Lane, Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Amount: $2.5 million
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) allow our military to stay on station longer, strike from further away, and accomplish missions while keeping soldiers out of harm’s way. For example, the Predator UAV has been an invaluable tool in supporting troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan with intelligence. However, our troops are constrained in their ability to train with and use UAVs in domestic airspace because UAV’s ability to sense and avoid other aircraft is far below levels needed to meet FAA requirements. This funding will help develop sense and avoid technologies for smaller UAVs. This will help make UAVs suitable for a wider range of missions such as border security, hurricane and tornado monitoring, and counternarcotics.
Technology Transfer Office
Recipient: Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center
Address: 3767 Strauss Avenue, Building 20, Indian Head, MD 20640
Amount: $1.5 million
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, has a large and unique set of technologies that could be available for licensing by outside organizations. Technology Transfer offices exist at other military installations and have proven successful in enabling local businesses to exploit technologies for commercial application. Indian Head lacks such an office. This funding would create a technology transfer office between Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center and federal, state, and commerical partners in Maryland.
U.S. SOCOM AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR)
Recipient: Thales Communications
Address: 22605 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871
Amount: $4 million
Communications and mobility are two critical ingredients in the success and safety of U.S. soldiers, especially within the special operations command. New generations of lighter, more capable handheld radios such as the multiband inter/intra team radio provides a major step forward in capability in both areas. This lightweight radio combines all the frequencies our soldiers use into a single radio, significantly reducing the weight of equipment soldiers must carry. It also uses a software based design that allows it to be quickly and easily upgraded to address the unique communications needs for new Special Forces missions in the future.
Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar
Recipient: Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems
Address: 1580A West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD, 21090
Amount: $4 million
Our soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan need new and better ways to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs), track targets, and conduct surveillance of the enemy. For example, the ability to detect changes in a target could enable a commander on the ground to better detect an insurgent planting a roadside IED down the road from his unit’s position. VADER is a prototype antenna for planes and unmanned aerial vehicles that provides a new high resolution, all-weather, day-night capability to detect changes in a target by analyzing patterns of movement. This funding will support transitioning VADER from a prototype to production for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.
back to top
Interior and Environment Bill
Senator Mikulski fought to put $123 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Public Law 111-5) for water and sewer projects across Maryland. Governor O’Malley received approximately 700 applications totaling $3.7 billion for these funds. The Governor was only able to fund 95 projects that will create 2,700 jobs.
Senator Mikulski is fighting for additional federal funding for Maryland’s water and sewer infrastructure needs in the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The Senator has requested $2.4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $1.5 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. These Environmental Protection Agency programs provide formula funding to the Maryland Department of the Environment to make low interest loans to communities and utilities throughout the state for water and wastewater improvements. Senator Mikulski also is fighting for funding for the following wastewater projects which did not receive funding from the Recovery Bill:
Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant
Recipient: Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Address: 14501 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, MD 20707
Recipient: D.C. Water and Sewer Authority
Address: 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20032
Recipient: Fairfax County Department of Public Works
Address: 12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 659, Fairfax, VA 22035
Amount: $170 million
The most effective way to cleanup the Chesapeake Bay is to invest in infrastructure improvements at Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant. Blue Plains is the largest advanced sewage treatment facility in the world, serving the entire Washington metro region including Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland. Unfortunately, it also is the largest point source of nutrient pollution in the entire Bay watershed. Each year, it discharges about 5.5 million pounds of nitrogen into the Potomac River, which flows directly into the Bay. Just as the federal government supports other infrastructure throughout the National Capital Region, it must do the same for Blue Plains.
The requested funding will be used to install enhanced nutrient removal facilities at Blue Plains that are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This federal assistance also will help prevent the cost of these improvements from being passed on to the residents of the Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. These new facilities will reduce nutrient discharges to the Bay by nearly 4 million pounds per year and create or support approximately 7,600 jobs. In addition, these improvements will save jobs that depend on the Bay in Maryland’s seafood, tourism and recreation industries.
Frostburg Combined Sewer Overflow Improvements
Recipient: City of Frostburg
Address: P.O. Box 440, Frostburg, MD 21532
Amount: $700,000
The City of Frostburg is under a judicial Consent Decree to correct its combined sewer overflow problems. It is implementing a long term correction plan that requires separation of combined sanitary and stormwater systems and replacement of sanitary sewers. Eliminating this combined sewer overflow problems will benefit the public health and improve water quality in the Upper Potomac River Basin. This project also is part of an ongoing Chesapeake Bay restoration effort to reduce nutrient loading and ultimately remove the Bay from the impaired waters list. The requested funding will be used for construction of these improvements and will create or support 37 jobs. This federal assistance also will prevent the City of Frostburg from having to either raise rates or cut other municipal services to pay for these improvements.
Maryland Water Resources
Recipient: Maryland Department of the Environment
Address: 1800 Washington Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21230
Amount: $1 million
The State of Maryland’s water supply levels are declining. The Coastal Plain ground water levels are declining by as much as two feet per year (the region east of I-95 including the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland). If water-levels continue to decline at this rate, it could negatively impact this region’s long-term ground water supply. The Coastal Plain region of Maryland includes heavily populated communities and the Eastern Shore’s agricultural industry. In the Piedmont region of Maryland, water shortages have required water restrictions and building moratoria (the region west of I-95 including much of Howard County). The Piedmont region also is very prone to drought. This project will make sure Maryland has adequate water supplies to sustain public health and its economy. The requested funding will be used to collect data throughout the state and develop science-based tools to manage Maryland’s water supply.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways
Recipient: National Park Service
Address: 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240
Amount: $1 million
The Chesapeake Bay Gateways is an education and recreation program coordinated by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Chesapeake Bay Program. It provides public access to a system of more than 150 parks, refuges, museums, historic communities and watertrails in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The requested funds will be used to provide matching grants to educational, conservation or restoration projects. It also will be used to implement the Captain John Smith Chesapeake and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trails.
back to top
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Bill
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
YouthWorks Summer Job Program for Teenagers
Recipient: City of Baltimore
Location: 417 E. Fayette Street, Suite 468, Baltimore, MD 21202
Amount: $1 million
There are more than 76,000 people between the ages of 14-21 living in Baltimore City, many who have a tough time finding part-time jobs. Without school to keep them busy, young people need an outlet in the summer months to keep them engaged and productive. YouthWorks is a summer employment program that connects young people, most from disadvantaged backgrounds, to public and private sector employment. This funding will ensure that 800 young people in Baltimore City get quality job-training and paid summer jobs.
Workforce Initiative for the Mentally Ill
Recipient: Sheppard Pratt Health System
Location: 6501 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21285
Amount: $725,000
Low-income individuals with mental illness suffer from the hopelessness of poverty and the pain of disability. It’s also a population that has a tough time finding work, even though they’re in desperate need of a steady paycheck. This funding will go toward Sheppard Pratt’s implementation of a statewide workforce development initiative that will provide job-training for 500 low-income, mentally ill individuals through the development of 8 vocational rehabilitation centers across the state of Maryland. Sheppard Pratt has been providing top-quality mental health services for more than 100 years and is considered one of the best psychiatric hospitals in the country.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
2-1-1 Maryland
Recipient: United Way of Central Maryland
Address: 100 South Charles Street, 5th Floor, P.O. Box 1576, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $1 million
During these difficult economic times, more Marylanders than ever are in need of help with basic needs such as energy costs, housing, food and health care and mental health related services. 2-1-1 Maryland, a 24 hour information and referral service, is an easy way for people to this help. It streamlines access to help by cutting through the maze of Maryland’s estimated 500 toll-free and other “help” numbers. By calling 2-1-1, Marylanders can get assistance with a range of health and human service problems and needs in more than 150 languages. It is a simple and quick link. One call leads to the right resources and information the first time. 2-1-1 also partners with 911 and first responders during crises and emergencies. The requested funding will expand 2-1-1 Maryland from a pilot program to a permanent system.
Maryland/National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Partnership (M/NCR-EPP)
Recipient: State of Maryland, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Address: 201 West Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $5 million
Maryland residents and their neighbors in Washington, D.C. and Virginia are not protected by a coordinated disaster response system. The National Capital Region needs a strong emergency preparedness and response program to be protected against attacks and natural disasters. The requested funding will create a partnership with Prince George's Hospital Center, Malcolm Grow Medical Center on Andrews Air Force Base, and University of Maryland Medical Systems. These partners will work together to strengthen preparedness and the ability to respond to large-scale medical emergencies caused by biological, chemical, or nuclear attacks, pandemics, or any other disaster resulting in large numbers of casualties. This partnership will improve the preparedness infrastructure at a national, regional and local level. Prince George’s Hospital Center will be developed as the central facility for this partnership, providing training and trauma surge capacity.
Mid-Maryland Community College Allied Healthcare Education Center
Recipient: Howard Community College
Address: 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044
Amount: $1 million
The country continues to suffer from a national nursing shortage. As a result, enrollment at nursing schools has increased to accommodate the need for well-trained nursing professionals. In Maryland, nursing students need improved educational resources as they prepare to join the healthcare workforce. The requested funding will support construction of the Mid-Maryland Community College Allied Healthcare Education Center established by Howard Community College in partnership with Frederick and Carroll Counties’ community colleges and related health providers. The Center, to be located in Mount Airy, will include science, computer and medical simulation laboratories and classrooms for health education programs.
Unified Oral Health Education Message Campaign
Recipient: State of Maryland, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Address: 201 West Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $1 million
In 2007, Maryland lost 12-year-old Prince George’s County resident Deamonte Driver from an untreated dental infection that spread to his brain. This tragedy brought to light that many Marylanders are unaware about the importance of proper dental care or unable to find good dental health care. Low-income children are especially at risk for poor access to dental care. The requested funding will be used to create a statewide unified oral health education message initiative for the public and health care providers. It will develop a multi-cultural oral health message that can be used statewide. The oral health message will educate parents and caregivers of young children about the importance of oral health and the prevention of oral disease.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Comprehensive Early Childhood and Pre-K Program Expansion Strategy
Recipient: CentroNía
Location: 1345 University Blvd, Takoma Park MD, 20912
Amount: $500,000
Success in school is built on the experiences a child has from birth to age 5 – before they enter Kindergarten. In Maryland, 32% of children enter kindergarten without the skills they need to succeed in school. CentroNía is an educational center that provides quality early education to low-income families and has a strong track-record as an early childhood teacher training center – having trained more than 600 early education teachers. Funds will allow CentroNia to provide full-day pre-K for an extra 60 families in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties and will also go towards the training of more than 200 early education teachers.
Churchville Library and Science Center
Recipient: Harford Co.
Location: 220 South Main Street, Bel Air, Maryland 21014
Amount: $400,000
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is bringing more than 60,000 jobs to Maryland. This means significant career opportunities in science and technology. To prepare our students for these great careers, Harford County is developing a state-of-the-art science center to give our students the skills and the know-how to compete for BRAC-related jobs. The Churchville Library and Science Center (CLSC) will provide learning opportunities designed to promote science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to elementary and middle school children by showing them how STEM is important in their everyday lives. Funds will go towards science equipment and technology for the center.
Teach for America
Recipient: Teach for America
Location: 315 West 36th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018
Amount: $25 Million
Fourth graders growing up in low-income communities are three grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities. Nearly 50 percent of these students will not graduate from high school before they turn eighteen. Only one in ten will graduate from college. Teach for America is a national service organization fighting to increase student achievement by recruiting outstanding college graduates to devote two years to teaching in our most challenging schools. The requested funding will help Teach for America to serve nearly 550,000 economically disadvantaged students by recruiting more than 8,000 teachers.
back to top
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
BRAC-Related Intersection Improvements
Recipient: Maryland Department of Transportation
Address: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover, MD 21076
Amount: $20 million
The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is the Congressionally authorized process the U.S. Department of Defense uses to reorganize its base structure to more efficiently and effectively support our military. In the most recent BRAC round in 2005, Maryland was asked to accommodate a significant expansion of the United States military installations. It was one of the few states that gained thousands of jobs. This means Maryland will become home to approximately 10,000 of our federal civilian and military families plus up to 40,000 indirect jobs for contractors, support services and other related industries by 2011. Each of these workers will contribute to Maryland’s economy.
In 2005, Senator Mikulski promised to put funding in the federal checkbook to BRAC-ready Maryland including its highways and byways. The requested funding will provide $5 million for intersection improvements in the vicinity of each of the following military installations: Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County; Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County; National Naval Medical Center in Montgomery County; and Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County. This funding will be used for design, right-of-way or construction of intersection improvements to improve safety, operations and access to these bases.
U.S. 113 Improvements
Recipient: Maryland Department of Transportation
Address: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover, MD 21076
Amount: $2 million
U.S. 113 in Worcester County has a fatal accident rate that significantly exceeds the statewide average for similar highways. Increased seasonal traffic competing with increased commercial and residential development along the highway has caused this problem. The requested funding will continue to upgrade U.S. 113 to a four-lane, divided highway. This project will improve safety and reduce traffic congestion for County residents and beach goers.
MD 404 Improvements
Recipient: Maryland Department of Transportation
Address: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover, MD 21076
Amount: $2 million
MD 404 in Caroline, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties is a major highway for summer beach travel. The highway is being widened to a four-lane divided highway to accommodate both seasonal traffic and increased commercial and residential development. This project is important because it will increase safety and reduce congestion along this major artery. The requested funding will be used to continue this widening project.
Northeast Corridor Rail Tunnel Alignment Study
Recipient: Maryland Department of Transportation
Address: 7201 Corporate Center Drive, Hanover, MD 21076
Amount: $5 million
The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, located just south of Penn Station in Baltimore was built in 1873. It carries all rail traffic on the Northeast Corridor through Baltimore including Amtrak, MARC and Norfolk Southern trains. The tunnel’s structural condition continues to deteriorate with age and it is expensive to maintain. It also is operationally substandard. Trains must travel at significantly reduced speeds because of the tunnel’s curves. The tunnel also has limited clearances requiring single tracking during freight operation and can’t accommodate modern freight cars. Last year, in the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act (Public Law 110-432), Congressman Cummings successfully authorized $60 million with the help of Senators Mikulski and Cardin to study the construction of a new tunnel. The requested funding will be used to begin work on finding a new tunnel route.
Southern Maryland Commuter Bus Initiative
Recipient: Maryland Transit Administration
Address: 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $5 million
Public transportation service benefits all citizens, especially low and moderate income individuals or communities not able to afford personal transportation. Strong residential growth in Southern Maryland has resulted in additional highway congestion and a dramatic increase in commuter bus demand, especially by federal employees who receive transit benefits through the SmartsBenefits Program. The Maryland Transit Administration’s commuter bus program has been able to absorb some of this demand and has reduced congestion in the MD 5 corridor for all highway users. The requested funding will construct new and expanded commuter parking lots in Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties. It also will be used to buy coaches for MTA to contract with private operators.
Baltimore Red Line
Recipient: Maryland Transit Administration
Address: 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $10 million
The Baltimore Red Line is a proposed 14-mile light rail or bus rapid transit line extending from the Woodlawn area of Baltimore County through downtown Baltimore City to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus in East Baltimore. This project will improve public transit for many Baltimore City and Baltimore County residential neighborhoods. The Baltimore Red Line will relieve congestion, improve regional mobility, and offer expanded public transportation alternatives in an already heavily traveled regional corridor where much of the most significant economic growth is anticipated in the Baltimore region. The requested funding will be used for preliminary engineering of the Red Line and to complete its final environmental impact statement. However, Senator Mikulski’s support for this project is contingent on community issues being reasonably resolved and no court challenges.
Corridor Cities Transitway
Recipient: Maryland Transit Administration
Address: 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $5 million
Washington ranks as one of the nation’s most congested urbanized areas. The Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), a proposed 13.5-mile light rail or bus rapid transit line in Montgomery County, Maryland, would extend from the Shady Grove Metrorail Station in Rockville through Gaithersburg and Germantown to a terminus at the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT) facility south of Clarksburg. It will provide much-needed public transit options to a corridor which continues to grow and expand northward along I-270. This project is part of a larger effort, the I-270/US 15 Multi-Modal Corridor Study, being conducted by the Maryland Department of Transportation and examining a wide range of roadway improvements. The requested funding will be used for preliminary engineering of the CCT and to complete its final environmental impact statement.
Purple Line
Recipient: Maryland Transit Administration
Address: 6 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Amount: $10 million
The Purple Line is a proposed 16-mile light rail or bus rapid transit line extending from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County. The project will provide a direct connection to the Metrorail Red, Green and Orange Lines at Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton as well as connections to MARC commuter rail, Amtrak and local bus services. It will reduce travel times for transit riders, including those in the heavily transit-dependent communities of Takoma Park and Langley Park. The requested funding will be used for preliminary engineering of the Purple Line and to complete its final environmental impact statement. However, Senator Mikulski’s support is contingent on community concerns about the route being addressed.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Recipient: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Address: 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Amount: $150 million
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) was created in 1966 primarily to serve the federal government. Many metro stations were built at the federal government’s request and nearly half of all stations are located at federal facilities. Today, federal employees are 40% of WMATA’s peak ridership and millions more use the system daily to work, play and visit our Nation’s Capital. The transit system also plays a critical role in keeping the federal government running during an emergency. The system is operating at capacity and is in urgent need of capital investment to provide safe and reliable service. The requested funding (authorized by Public Law 110-432) will buy rail cars, buses, facilities and infrastructure that will improve system performance and meet growing demand. It also will save or create approximately 7,140 jobs.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
Recipient: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Address: D-3, Tawes State Office Building, Annapolis, MD 21401
Amount: $475,000
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park is located adjacent to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County in the region where Harriet Tubman was born and spent her early life. Until the Park was established in 2007, there was no one location that offered the opportunity to learn about the early life and legacy of Harriet Tubman. The Park is approximately 17 acres and currently has no modern improvements. The requested funds will be used to design and build the Park’s facilities. Once it’s completed, the park is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors from all over the world each year. These visitors will have a positive economic impact on small businesses and the Eastern Shore’s tourism industry.
Indoor Plumbing for Low-Income Housing
Recipient: County Commissioners of Charles County, MD
Address: 8190 Port Tobacco Road, Port Tobacco, MD 20677
Amount: $1 million
About 250 households in Charles County’s poor and rural communities lack indoor plumbing. These substandard living conditions are a threat to public health and the welfare of these low-income residents. The requested funding will be used to install indoor plumbing in these households, with priority given to the homes of the elderly, the disabled and families with children.
Low-Income Senior Housing Improvements
Recipient: Howard County
Address: 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046
Amount: $700,000
About 90 percent of seniors will remain in their homes even as they grow frail. As a result, aging-in-place models of health and supportive services are being implemented in communities across the country. These models focus on building safe and secure homes and neighborhoods to allow seniors to continue living independently with a good quality of life. The requested funding will implement an aging-in-place model in a low and moderate income Howard County-owned senior community. Funds will be used to rehabilitate the community and wellness rooms and purchase equipment. These facility improvements will provide space for staff to accommodate the resident’s human services needs allowing them to age-in-place.
Maryland Food Bank Equipment and Facilities
Recipient: Maryland Food Bank
Address: 2200 Halethorpe Farms Road, Baltimore, MD 21227
Amount: $500,000
Founded in 1979, the Maryland Food Bank helps to feed thousands of needy Marylanders by providing 14 million pounds of food annually to 900 soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and other community-based organizations throughout the state. The Maryland Food Bank has seen its partners' caseloads triple as the economic climate has worsened and middle class Marylanders look for help. It is critical that the Maryland Food Bank have the capacity to sustain and expand services to the growing number of Marylanders affected by rising energy costs and the economic downturn. The requested funding will make infrastructure repairs to the food bank’s distribution center. It also will be used to buy refrigerated trucks to secure and distribute more food.
Spanish Language Foreclosure Prevention
Recipient: Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.
Address: 6526 Belcrest Road, Suite 555, Hyattsville, MD 20782
Amount: $800,000
The foreclosure crisis has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on the Hispanic community in Maryland, particularly in the foreclosure hot spots of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. While efforts have been made to educate those hardest hit by this crisis, the language barrier has kept the Hispanic community from benefiting from these services. The language barrier also makes the Hispanic community a target for “foreclosure rescue” scams run by fraudulent companies that imitate government or community development organizations to swindle families scared of losing their homes. The requested funding will be used by the Housing Initiative Partnership, in cooperation with the Hispanic Communications Network, to launch a Spanish language home ownership public awareness and education media campaign targeted at the Hispanic communities in these counties. This effort will provide Spanish speakers with critical information regarding housing and foreclosure scams, foreclosure mitigation programs and first-time homebuyer opportunities. The requested funding also will be use to hire Spanish language housing counselors. This project will help Hispanic homeowners get affordable modified mortgages to stay in their homes, encourage new homeownership and prevent individuals from entering predatory loan agreements.
back to top
Energy and Water Development Bill
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
The Army Corps’ work is essential for the operation, maintenance and protection of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The projects that I have requested support the Port of Baltimore, Maryland’s seafood industry and watermen, restoration of the Bay watershed and provide flood and storm protection and water supply. While these projects are Congressionally authorized, I must request funding for them each year because the Army Corps does not have the authority to fund them on their own.
PORT OF BALTIMORE PROJECTS
The Port of Baltimore is a major economic engine for Maryland and America, supporting more than 50,000 jobs in Maryland, including more than 16,000 direct jobs. Among the 360 U.S. ports, the Port is ranked No. 1 for handling roll on/roll off cargo, trucks, imported forest products, and imported gypsum, sugar and iron ore. It ranks 12th in the nation in total value of foreign cargo handled. It also is the largest automobile exporter in the country, the second largest automobile importer, and the 13th largest in total containers moved. The Port’s activities support approximately $2 billion in business revenue, $3.6 billion in personal wages and salaries, and $368 million in state, county and municipal taxes annually. The following requested projects will keep the Port open for business and competitive:
Baltimore Harbor and Channels
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $22.5 million
Channels serving the Port of Baltimore need to be dredged every year to maintain appropriate depths and widths for maritime commerce. In addition, as vessels become larger and have deeper drafts, annual dredge maintenance is needed to retain and enhance the Port’s competitive edge. This includes the channels between Baltimore and Pooles Island which lead to the C&D Canal, the deep channels in the Baltimore Harbor and the channel leading from Baltimore southward down the Chesapeake Bay to Virginia waters. The requested funding will be used for maintenance dredging of these channels.
C&D Canal
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District
Address: Wannamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Amount: $7.15 million
The C&D Canal is an essential part of the Port of Baltimore’s ship channel system. It provides a shortcut for vessels traveling between Baltimore and points north. Maintaining the channels at the proper depth and width is essential for the efficient operation of the ships calling on the Port. The requested funding will be used for maintenance dredging of the canal and the repair of the North Pier Chesapeake City Bridge.
Poplar Island
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $13.55 million
This project is using clean dredge material to restore 1,140 acres of remote island habitat in the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County. The State of Maryland has only two major dredge material placement sites in operation: Poplar Island and Hart-Miller Island. It is critical that Poplar Island be adequately funded to ensure sufficient dredge material disposal capacity because Hart-Miller Island will close at the end of this calendar year. The requested funding will be used to continue dredge placement activities on Poplar Island.
Mid Chesapeake Bay Islands
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $483,000
The Mid Chesapeake Bay Islands, James and Barren in Dorchester County, are the next dredge placement site for the Port of Baltimore. Clean dredge materials from the Port’s channels will be used to restore and expand the islands’ natural habitat. This project is important because it will provide long-term dredged material disposal capacity for the Port. It also will assure shippers doing business there that long-term capacity will be available. The requested funding will be used to continue planning, engineering and design of Barren Island.
OTHER MARYLAND PROJECTS
Anacostia River and Tributaries Comprehensive Plan
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $300,000
The Anacostia River is one of the most degraded urban rivers in the nation. It also has one of the most densely populated watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This project is preparing a restoration plan that will serve as a blueprint for future work in the Anacostia River watershed. It will develop a strategy for implementing restoration projects to protect, enhance and improve the health of the watershed. It also will provide a coordinated approach, which will provide the county, state and federal agencies involved a way to leverage resources and prevent duplication of work. The requested funding will be used to finalize the restoration plan.
Atlantic Coast of Maryland Storm Protection
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $4.5 million
The Atlantic Coast of Maryland Storm Protection project safeguards Ocean City and Worcester County from hurricanes, coastal flooding and erosion. It protects the residents of the County, billions of dollars in public and private infrastructure and jobs. Periodic beach replenishment is the major component of this project, which takes place every 4 years. The requested funding will pay for this beach replenishment work. It will be used to pump approximately 900,000 cubic yards of sand from the Atlantic onto Ocean City’s beach. Without this project, the federal government would be faced with the financial burden of helping to rebuild Ocean City and the mainland’s infrastructure after storms.
Assateague Island Protection
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $1.2 million
Assateague Island is a barrier island located off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. Over two million visitors travel to Assateague annually for camping and recreational activities. Assateague has been experiencing accelerated erosion because of the Ocean City Inlet. The Inlet was formed in 1933 during a severe storm. In 1934, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed jetties to protect the newly formed waterway and provide navigation between the coastal bays and the ocean. As a result, a large portion of sand that generally traveled from Ocean City to Assateague Island was stopped by the north jetty. This has caused the Island to erode at an accelerated rate and in particular its northern portion. The erosion has harmed the habitats of several threatened and endangered species. It also has made Assateague vulnerable to breaching which could cause additional inlets to form. If this were to happen, navigation would become hazardous and storm protection would be reduced to the Island and the mainland. The requested funding will be used to restore sand to Assateague.
Chesapeake Bay Oyster Recovery
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $2 million
Oyster restoration is critical to the economic and environmental survival of the Chesapeake Bay. The oyster population has declined dramatically because of parasitic diseases. It is currently one percent of its historical peak. This has resulted in a major decline in Maryland’s harvest: from 10 million bushels annually 100 years ago to 3.2 million bushels annually 30 years ago to less than 45,000 in 2006. Today, 80 percent of the harvest comes from areas planted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The decline of oysters also is harming the Bay’s health. Oysters used to be able to filter the entire Bay in three to four days and now it would take one year. The requested funding will be used to continue oyster habitat construction in the Bay watershed in both Maryland and Virginia.
Chesapeake Bay Susquehanna Reservoir Sediment Management
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $200,000
The Chesapeake Bay’s restoration plan calls for a reduction of sediment. High sediment loads and the nutrients they carry can cause loss of aquatic vegetation and habitat. It also could cause shoaling of navigation channels. The requested funding will be used to examine removing sediment from behind the Conowingo Reservoir and determine the benefits of doing so. It also will be used to identify the source of sediment to the reservoir and strategies for reducing it from traveling to the Bay. The Conowingo Reservoir provides water for public water supply systems, energy production, recreational activities and aquatic habitat and provides fresh water to the upper Chesapeake Bay. The City of Baltimore is among the users of the reservoir.
Jennings Randolph Lake
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $1.8 million
Jennings Randolph Lake on the North Branch of the Potomac River is located in Garrett County and Mineral County, West Virginia. This multi-purpose Lake provides water quality and flood control, water supply and recreation to Western Maryland and the DC metro area. Approximately forty-five percent of the lake is used for water supply storage for Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission as well as Fairfax County Water Authority and the District of Columbia. The requested funding will be used for routine operations and maintenance work.
Mid-Atlantic River Commissions
Recipient: Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
Address: 51 Monroe Street, Suite PE-09, Rockville, MD 20850
Recipient: Susquehanna River Basin Commission
Address: 1721 N. Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
Recipient: Delaware River Basin Commission
Address: 25 State Police Drive, P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628
Amount: $2.4 million
The Mid-Atlantic River Commissions undertake important water resources management roles in their respective basins, providing value-added services to the states they serve. As demand for water grows, and as the member states continue to struggle to fund the commissions, it is important for the federal government to recognize its joint responsibility and re-establish funding for the Commissions. The requested funding will enable the Commissions to participate more vigorously as the non-federal partner to numerous federal projects in the basins. It also will help them in meeting their congressionally-mandated obligation to properly manage the water resources of this region of the country.
North Beach Flood Prevention
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $132,000
The Town of North Beach is located in the northeast corner of Calvert County and includes 3,000 feet of shoreline. Its inlet has silted over and now during any significant rain, the marsh area that remains fills up and the rain water has nowhere to go. As a result, rain water backs up into the town and floods the downtown area. The marsh has flooded approximately five times over the last three years. There are approximately twenty-five homes and businesses one block away. When the flooding occurs, it also prevents fire and rescue from being able to travel the most direct route to respond to emergencies in southern Anne Arundel County. The requested funding will be used to examine how to prevent future flooding and begin planning the solution.
Ocean City Harbor and Inlet
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $1 million
The Ocean City Harbor and Inlet serves several packing houses, offshore commercial fishing fleets, marinas and recreational vessels. The channel has shoaled to less than eight feet resulting in numerous vessel groundings. If the shoaling continues, the area’s fishing fleet will have to relocate to deeper ports at great expense to the local and state economies. According to the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program, in 2001, the Ocean City Harbor landed over 74 million pounds of fisheries products. Only five other ports on the Atlantic Ocean reported higher landings. The Ocean City Inlet also is a port for a U.S. Coast Guard station, which dispatches search and rescue missions to the Atlantic. The requested funding will be used to dredge the harbor and inlet to a depth of 10 feet.
Somerset County Channels
Recipient: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District
Address: P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203
Amount: $1.5 million
The local economies of several Somerset County communities are highly dependent on the fisheries industry. This means they need their waterways maintained at the appropriate depths and widths to get their job done. Currently, the County has several maintenance dredging projects that need to be accomplished each in different stages of work. These include Lower Thorofare (Wenona Harbor), Goose Creek and Wicomico River (Webster Cove Harbor). All of these maintenance dredging projects support the livelihood of Somerset County’s watermen. Seafood packing houses, marinas, charter and recreational vessels are located along these channels. Without this dredging, commercial watermen will have limited navigation and possibly damage their vessels. The requested funding will be used to complete the project(s) of highest importance to the County’s economy and that supports the most jobs.
Susquehanna River Basin Low Flow Management & Environmental Restoration
Recipient: Susquehanna River Basin Commission
Address: 1721 N. Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
Amount: $285,000
The Susquehanna River Basin drains an area exceeding 27,500 square miles, covering half the land area of Pennsylvania, and portions of New York and Maryland. This landmass encompasses over forty-three percent of the Chesapeake Bay’s total drainage area and provides over fifty percent of the fresh water flow to the Bay. There is increasing concern over the growing demand for the water both in and out of the basin. That demand is greatest during low flow periods brought on by sustained drought. Simultaneously, consumptive water use continues to increase throughout the basin. The requested funding will be used to identify strategies to conserve water to offset the growing demands.