WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, today announced his FY 2010 budget appropriations requests for Maryland, including priorities for the Eastern Shore. The Senate will take up the appropriations bills this summer. A complete list of Senator Cardin’s appropriations requests can be found at cardin.senate.gov.
“The appropriations process must be open and transparent. The American people have a right to know how their tax dollars may be used. I have carefully vetted every request for Fiscal Year 2010 to ensure that they reflect our regional and national priorities and will help Maryland meet the challenges of the future,” said Senator Cardin. “My appropriations requests focus on creating new jobs through innovation and technology, improving our transportation infrastructure, supporting health research, strengthening homeland security, restoring the environment and lessening our dependence on foreign energy.”
More than 45 percent of all funds requested by Senator Cardin fund or supplement funding for federal programs that benefit Maryland. Approximately 30 percent of the funds requested would provide essential resources to our state and local governments.
Examples of statewide requests include:
• $2 million for the State of Maryland for its First Responder Interoperability Project to help the state implement an interoperability radio system
• $ 1 million for the Maryland State Police to upgrade the state’s computer aided dispatch/management system in order to coordinate resources and provide quicker deployments in case of an emergency
• $2.5 million for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s statewide oral health literacy campaign to educate low-income, high-risk families about the importance of oral health and preventive behaviors including working with dental and medical providers
• $2 million for essential infrastructure of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Water Trails
Senator Cardin’s list of appropriations requests based in Southern Maryland focus on the major U.S. Navy installations at Patuxent River and Indian Head. Requested projects include:
• $16.46 million for the Advanced Energetic Research Lab at the Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center which will seek to discover and develop new and advanced materials for new weapons, platform designs and applications to support the warfighter
• $9.8 million to add a Telemetry Data Center to the Atlantic Test Range at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. This will support integrated test operations and joint testing with other facilities.
• $6 million for the Naval Air Station Patuxent River to support integrating and upgrading Special Operations Forces vehicles and platforms to provide warfighters with access to a common operational picture and air-ground-sea interoperability.
Examples from the full list of requests from Senator Cardin for entities or projects based in Southern Maryland include:
• $5 million for the Southern Maryland Commuter Bus Initiative to relieve congestion by enhancing peak period transit service for commuters in Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert Counties
• $3 million for The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT), headquartered in the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons that provides vital services for NOAA’s developing Integrated Ocean Observing System
• $1 million for the Office of Naval Research’s N-STAR Edcuational Outreach Program to continue the collaboration among the College of Southern Maryland, Southern Maryland public schools, and the two Naval installations that provides students and teachers with the resources they need to pursue careers mathematics, physics, engineering and other sciences
In addition, Senator Cardin has requested funding for the following projects:
• Comprehensive planning for the Middle Potomac River Watershed that combats a broad spectrum of problems and reflects the diversity of the landscape of the Potomac basin, which includes urban, rural, and natural areas in six different eco-regions and five local jurisdictions-MD, PA, VA, WV, and DC
• Southern Maryland Simulation Alliance for Health Education project will improve the College of Southern Maryland's capacity to deliver high quality clinical simulation experiences and build a multi-sector alliance for sharing simulation technology and expertise with local hospitals and other schools of nursing in Maryland
• Higher Ed partnership for with the Navy for Research in Atomic Physics , which will provide summer training and research in atomic physics for students at St. Mary's College of Maryland and the Patuxent River Naval Air Station wanting to enhance their training in physics and engineering
For more details on the above requests and a complete list of all of Senator Cardin’s FY 2010 appropriations requests for Maryland, please go to cardin.senate.gov
