Appropriations Requests

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Congressman Ruppersberger serves on the Appropriations Committee. The Committee writes the twelve spending measures that fund the federal government and related agencies including:

• Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
• Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
• Defense
• Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
• Financial Services and General Government
• Homeland Security
• Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
• Labor, Health, Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
• Legislative Branch
• Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
• State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies

The federal budget, as passed by Congress, is $2.937 trillion dollars for fiscal year 2008. Congressman Ruppersberger works with local and state officials to understand their funding priorities. The Appropriations Committee then crafts 12 separate spending bills that reflect the needs of the nation and individual Congressional districts. The Congressman works within the Committee to ensure that Maryland’s priorities are fully considered.

The 2nd District of Maryland includes BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, the National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), the Port of Baltimore and the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay. It also includes neighborhoods in Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County, and Baltimore City.

Maryland is a dynamic and active state. Two of the state’s largest economic engines, BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport and the Port of Baltimore, are in Maryland’s 2nd District. In addition, 60,000 high-paying jobs are heading to the area through the Base Realignment and Closure Process (BRAC). Congressman Ruppersberger’s priorities on the Appropriations Committee are to help improve economic conditions, meet health care demands, address infrastructure needs, expand educational opportunities, promote environmental protection, enhance transportation and military advancements, and strengthen intelligence capabilities in Maryland and across our nation.

In order for the government to operate, Congress must pass appropriations bills. The regular budget process uses the President’s Budget as a blueprint. From that blueprint, Congress can add or subtract federal funds as necessary to meet the needs of American citizens. The budget funds many vital programs and activities, from national defense to health care. Congress may also provide funding for specific projects, which are often requested by individual members. These specific projects are often called earmarks, but are more accurately called Congressionally directed spending.

There have been abuses in Congressionally directed spending. Directed spending has received negative publicity because of recent scandals like Duke Cunningham’s bribery conviction. As a result, the important needs of Maryland will be put under the political microscope. This heightened scrutiny of government spending is good for our nation.

However, so-called earmarks are nothing more than targeted spending on specific projects. When the federal government allocated money to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it was in the form of an earmark. When the government gave New York $20 billion after 9/11 to rebuild, it was an earmark.

Without Congressionally directed spending, the decisions on how to spend money is left to government bureaucrats instead of elected officials. Members of Congress are elected because they are experts on what their districts need. The earmark process will allow the Maryland Delegation to get the resources Maryland needs.

Fiscal Year 2008 Spending Requests
Congressman Ruppersberger has requested funding for the following projects. The Congressman complies fully with the letter and spirit of all ethics regulations and disclosure rules of the House of Representatives. As the Congressman’s requests are included in individual spending bills by the Appropriations Committee, the list below will be updated.

• COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES
  • $2.75 Million for the Gang Elimination Task Force
    $2.75 million will create the new Task Force based at the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC) in Baltimore, Maryland. It will serve as a comprehensive information clearinghouse for gang-related law enforcement intelligence along the East Coast. Information will be shared between authorities in Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania. The Task Force will work with local communities to help identify gang members, curb gang recruitment, and assist prosecutors and law enforcement officials locate high value targets. The funding will pay for additional investigators to be hired to solely focus on gang prosecutions. The Task Force also will have access to national real-time databases that track critical information about gang members across the country.
  • $300,000 for Susquehanna Flood Forecast & Warning System
    On the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland, $300,000 will fund the Flood Forecast and Warning System that uses sophisticated radar techniques, a network of stream and rain gauges, and automatic data transmission to provide the National Weather Service with information for river forecasts. The system provides accurate and advanced warnings of floods to residents and communities throughout the basin to significantly reduce the loss of life and property damage.
  • $250,000 for Mobile Job Training and Placement Vehicle for Ex-Offenders
    In Baltimore County, $250,000 will outfit a mobile job training and placement vehicle for ex-offenders. The funding will outfit the unit with computer stations and assorted tools to help ex-offenders find employment.
  • $200,000 for Baltimore City Public School System Safety Program
    In Baltimore City, $200,000 will fund the Public School Safety Program and provide money for the necessary equipment. The program hopes to reduce violence in the school system by helping create a safer, more productive school environment. The funds will enhance the program, which has been hampered by limited resources in the past.


• DEFENSE
  • $3 Million for Shock Trauma
    At the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, $3 million will fund cutting edge research for traumatic brain injuries. The research will help physicians improve diagnosis, treatment, and recovery methods for patients. The research will benefit Marylanders as well as servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan. Doctors estimate that 60% of troops injured in Iraq suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Military medical personnel will learn first hand about this critical research when they complete their monthly rotations at Shock Trauma to help prepare them for overseas assignments.
    
  • $1 Million for Kennedy Krieger Institute
    At the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, $1 million will go to the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury for rehabilitation for American military personnel injured in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other locations around the world. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, more than 16,000 troops have received severe spinal cord injuries. The money will fund groundbreaking therapies that will help reverse spinal cord injuries, generate new nerve cells, and develop brain activity.
    
  • $1.5 Million for Aberdeen Proving Ground
    At Aberdeen Proving Ground, $1.5 million will fund state-of-the-art research to improve protective helicopter armor used by U.S. servicemen and women.
    
  • $3 Million for Navy Radar
    At a facility near Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, $3 million will fund groundbreaking improvements to Navy radar to make it smaller, lighter, more adaptable, and more accurate than current radar capabilities.
    
  • $2 Million for Better Tank Batteries.
    Using technology developed at a Maryland company, $2 million will fund a strong, longer lasting battery for the Abrams tank used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new battery will reduce battlefield fuel demand by as much as 50%. This will save an estimated $15 to $30 million a day and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.


• ENERGY AND WATER
  • $19.5 million for Baltimore Harbor Channels
    In the Baltimore Harbor and Channels, $19.5 million will fund maintenance dredging of the Baltimore Harbor Channels and surrounding areas. In addition to the harbor and channels, the Chesapeake Bay will be dredged from Pooles Island in the north to Virginia’s Cape Henry and York Spit in the south.
    
  • $13.6 million for Poplar Island Wildlife Refuge
    On Poplar Island in the Chesapeake Bay, $13.6 million will fund the restoration of 1,140 acres of the island, creating a wildlife refuge for ospreys, egrets, terns, herons, eagles, terrapins, and other wildlife. Poplar Island is a national model for habitat restoration and beneficial use of dredged material.
    
  • $311,000 for Harry Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology
    At the Harry Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology at the University of Maryland in Queenstown, $311,000 will continue to fund the Statewide Plan for Agricultural Policy and Resource Management. The money will support research on bio-fuels, forest land conservation, and water supply protection including protecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The goal of the program is to help farmers diversify and make their operations more efficient so that farming and forestry in Maryland are environmentally sound and economically viable.
    
  • $300,000 for Restoration Efforts on Barren Island and James Island
    On Barren Island and the remnants of James Island in the Chesapeake Bay, $300,000 will begin restoration of 2,070 acres of wetlands, surrounding habitats, and shoreline using dredged material. This program is part of the Mid Bay Project.
  
  
• FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT
  • $231,000 for University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore City.
    At the University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore City, this request will help create a workforce training center to support the revitalization of several West Baltimore neighborhoods. The funding will be used to teach workers specialized skills, construct classroom and other facilities, and upgrade utilities and other infrastructure at the BioPark.
  • $231,000 for an Integrated Library System for the Blind
    This project will help develop a library system that blind and visually impaired individuals can use to access materials and information independently in a library or online without help from a librarian. The system will be developed at the National Federation of the Blind Headquarters in Baltimore and will help 1.3 million blind and visually impaired citizens access to information when complete.


• INTERIOR AND THE ENVIRONMENT
  • $1.65 Million for Chesapeake Bay Gateway Network
    The network is a series of museums, displays, activities and facilities around the Chesapeake Bay to increase awareness about the ecosystem and history of the Bay including the John Smith Trail.


• LABOR, HEALTH, AND HUMAN SERVICES
  • $300,000 for the Cherry Hill Learning Zone initiative at Towson University
    Towson University, Baltimore City Public Schools, and Baltimore City formed the Cherry Hill Learning Zone Initiative (CHLZI) in 2005 in partnership with the Cherry Hill Community, its local K-12 schools, and residents and families to establish a community-wide network that prepares every preschooler for kindergarten; every elementary student for middle or high school; and every senior for higher education or direct entry into the workforce. This funding will continue development across an array of school improvement and community development initiatives that will become inter-connecting elements in a comprehensive approach to Cherry Hill's sustainable empowerment as an economically and educationally successful community.
  • $250,000 for BRAC Workforce Development at Towson University
    This project will help Towson University create a comprehensive demand-driven workforce development and student enrichment program that will prepare Marylanders for current and projected BRAC and Homeland Security high-wage/high-growth occupations. The targeted populations include at-risk or under represented youth, veterans, and those areas directly impacted by BRAC.
  • $100,000 for the Center for Health, Science, and Homeland Security at Anne Arundel Community College
    This project will support expansion of high-demand programs in radiological technology, first responder training, criminal justice and homeland security management at Anne Arundel Community College. This investment will help provide the infrastructure, curriculum materials and equipment necessary to meet the growing demand for AACC’s health care and homeland security workforce programs. This includes expanding training opportunities with the National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Northrop Grumman, and Thurgood Marshall Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
  • $100,000 for the Northwest Hospital Intermediate Care Unit at Northwest Hospital
    This federal partnership will expand and equip the Intermediate Care Unit at Northwest Hospital to better serve the patients of the northwest Baltimore and Randallstown area.
  • $75,000 for the Nurse Institute at Coppin State University School of Nursing
    This funding will allow Coppin’s School of Nursing an opportunity to increase faculty/student recruitment and retention, create competitive faculty salaries, purchase equipment for the classroom and clinical laboratory and identify new computer software and training guides for students. The Institute will increase the number of faculty available to train and educate nursing students for professional nursing practice, which includes providing care to individuals, families, and groups.


• TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
  • $1 Million for Road Improvements In and Around Aberdeen Proving Ground
    • $500,000 for State Highway Construction at Aberdeen Proving Ground
      This project will fund preliminary planning on several road projects in and around Aberdeen Proving Ground in support of the BRAC initiative. Improvements to these existing roads that provide either links or direct access to the installation are essential to the transportation network’s ability to successfully handle an anticipated on-post daily commuting population of more than 25,000.
    • $500,000 for Road Improvements in Harford County
      This project will help improve safety, operations, and access at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in anticipation of BRAC-related growth.
  • $750,000 for Widening I-695
    This project will support the widening of I-695 to eight lanes to reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic flow around the Baltimore Beltway. The Maryland State Highway Administration will also use these funds to improve safety on the highway.
  • $500,000 for Traffic Light Synchronization on MD 175 near Ft. Meade
    The Maryland State Highway Administration has requested funding to improve traffic flow through traffic light systemization between MD 170 and MD 173 to improve access to Ft. Meade in anticipation of BRAC-related growth in traffic volume.
  • $1 Million for Buses and Bus Facilities
    • $250,000 for Central Maryland Transit Operations
      The State of Maryland will use this funding to contribute to the construction of the Central Maryland Transit Operations facility that will provide storage and maintenance for a 120-bus operation, employing 200 people.
    • $750,000 for the Maryland Transit Agency
      This project will help the State of Maryland improve existing Maryland Transit Agency bus facilities and build new bus facilities throughout the State of Maryland.