Ruppersberger Announces $42.7 Billion to Keep Our Country Safe 

(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) is pleased to announce $42.7 billion was included in the Homeland Security Appropriations Act that passed the House of Representatives today to keep our country safe.  The funding will secure our nation’s ports, airports, trains, and roadways, help train local first responders, and beef up our cyber security efforts. 

Important initiatives include:

$4.2 billion for Homeland Security Grants
• The funding will pay for planning, equipment, and training for local first responders to manage potential terrorist attacks or other emergencies.  It will also pay for port security grants to help ports prevent, detect, and respond to terrorist attacks and help fire departments address communication, equipment, and staffing problems. 

$7.7 billion for the Transportation Security Administration
• The funding will pay for explosive detection systems and additional air cargo inspectors at our nation’s airports including BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport.   It will also pay for additional transportation security inspectors to protect America from potential attacks on our subways, trains, and buses.

$8.8 billion for the Coast Guard 
• The funding will pay for additional patrol aircraft, boats, and interagency operation centers across the United States including the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay. 

$397 million for Cyber Security
• The funding will pay for efforts to combat cyber security threats by reducing the points of access to the federal computer network, coordinating public and private sector networks, and increasing training and management of telecommunications, networks, and computer systems to prevent hacking.  
  
$2.5 million will fund important emergency response initiatives in Maryland:    

$1.5 Million for Emergency Communications Center in Maryland 
• At the Emergency Medical Resource Center/System Communication Center in Baltimore and satellite centers in Talbot and Allegany Counties, the federal funding will upgrade the current analog system to digital. The centers connect all EMS providers, medevac helicopters, and hospital systems across the State of Maryland.

$1 Million for Emergency Operations Center in Maryland 
• At the Emergency Operations Center in Reisterstown, the federal funding will upgrade the obsolete information technology infrastructure to promote interoperability and allow for comprehensive pre-disaster and post-disaster response.

The measure must pass the Senate and be signed by the President before it can become law. 

#########