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 million for essential infrastructure of the
  Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Water Trails

Examples of requests from Senator Cardin for entities or projects based on the Eastern Shore include:

• 
  $20 million for
  NOAA’s Cooperative Oxford Laboratory in Oxford, Maryland, which utilizes complementary assets of the Oxford Lab and academic institutions to guide Chesapeake Bay management and restoration decisions

• 
  $13.5 million for the
  Ecosystem Restoration Program at
  Poplar Island and an additional $483,000 for the
  Mid-Bay Island restoration project, which will serve as the successor to Poplar Island
  .

• 
  $6.3 million for
  shoreline protection and construction in Ocean City

• 
  
  
  $6 million for native
  Oyster and Oyster Habitat Recovery programs through the Oyster Recovery Project and the Army Corps of Engineers
  
  

• 
  $5 million for upgrades and repairs to the
  Smith Island wastewater treatment plant

• 
  $3 million to
  University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute for the Sustainability of Eastern Shore Agriculture

• 
  $2 million for the
  Blackwater National Refuge to add to its permanently protected lands and $475,000 for the adjacent
  Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Park and Visitor Center

• 
  $1.4 million for the
  Wenona Harbor dredging project to allow for safe navigation between the lower Wicomico River and Wenona Harbor

• 
  $1 million for the
  Town of Snow Hill to repair and upgrade its water-treatment facilities to meet basic health and water quality requirements

In addition, Senator Cardin has requested funding for the following projects:

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