WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded New Jersey and its neighboring areas more than $237 million in federal funds for passenger and freight rail, port, bus and infrastructure security.

    “This funding is critical to protect New Jersey’s ports, trains, buses and transportation infrastructure.   Whether it’s requiring homeland security grants to be distributed based on risk, not politics, or fighting for the funding our state needs to keep our communities safe, we will continue working to better protect New Jersey and the surrounding region,” Sen. Lautenberg said.

    Senator Menendez said: “These are tremendously important funds that can help bring security to many of the potential targets in our state. We have a bustling transit and rail system, tons of cargo flowing through our ports, busy chemical facilities and high-profile financial institutions. To make our state as secure as possible, that infrastructure must be fully protected, and this is another step in that direction.”

    DHS announced $237,918,637 in security funding for New Jersey and neighboring states.  The grants were broken up into three separate programs:

• Transit Security Grant Program: The New Jersey, New York and Connecticut region will share $153,256,664 for securing transit and rail systems.  In addition, the Southern NJ-Philadelphia region will receive $18,550,000.   A total of $25 million will be awarded to Amtrak for security needs and $15 million to freight rail security.  In addition to this funding, a bill written by Sen. Lautenberg and cosponsored by Sen. Menendez to increase Amtrak’s funding and improve rail safety across the country became law last month.

• Port Security Grant Program: New funding totaling $62,511,973 will aid in port and maritime security operations in the state:

• $43,397,694 for port security improvement projects in the Port of New York & New Jersey, which is the largest award nationwide;

• $19,114,279 for projects in the Delaware River and Bay port system; and

• Perth Amboy will be eligible, along with 35 other ports, for a share of a $17 million allocation under the port security tier system.

• Buffer Zone Protection Program: New Jersey will receive $3.6 million from this program that allocates funds for protecting sites like chemical facilities, financial institutions, nuclear and electric power plants, dams, stadiums and other high-risk/high-consequence facilities.  This is a substantial increase from FY 2008’s allocation of $995,000.

    Increasing homeland security funding for our nation’s most vulnerable areas was one of the highest priorities of the incoming Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and House in 2007.  Sen. Lautenberg wrote the law that required port security funding to be based on risk.

# # #