Van Hollen, Cardin Announce Over $20 Million in Direct Investments for Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties Included in Key Committee Legislation
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) announced the inclusion of $20,128,000 in direct federal funding for local projects in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties within the Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed annual funding legislation for fiscal year 2023. The projects encompass a wide array of local and regional priorities, ranging from public safety to infrastructure improvements to community and workforce development. Overall, the Senators included over $120 million in federal dollars directly for Maryland within the Committee’s proposed legislation.
A full list of the funds included by Senator Van Hollen in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations legislation is here. A full list of the funds included by Senator Cardin in the legislation is here. This legislation, released by the Committee as part of the annual Congressional Appropriations process, will proceed to consideration before the full Senate. Funding is not finalized until the Appropriations bills are passed by the Senate, reconciled with the House of Representatives, and signed by the President.
“Securing direct federal investments for important local projects is one of my top priorities because they expand opportunity and improve crucial services for folks in our communities,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “These resources will advance on-the-ground efforts to prepare people for good-paying jobs, improve public safety, strengthen our infrastructure, and so much more. I was proud to work with local leaders and community partners to identify these important investments in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, and I will keep fighting to get them across the finish line and into the hands of our local partners.”
“I am proud to announce these Congressionally Directed Spending projects that meet the direct needs of nonprofit organizations and local governments across Maryland,” said Senator Cardin. “These earmarks advance long-planned and widely-supported construction and expansion projects for our nonprofit and faith based communities, bolster environmental and green space projects, support vulnerable citizens, enhance public safety and expand education opportunities for students. I stand united with the leadership of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in advocating for these projects and will continue to work towards the final enactment of this funding.”
The funding announced by the Senators includes:
- Over $5.5 million for economic development, including for an equitable entrepreneurship program at the Universities at Shady Grove, the Maryland Economic Opportunity Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, Montgomery County Chamber Community Foundation’s institute to help veteran-owned companies do business with government, and Maryland Technology Development Corporation’s partnership with the state’s HBCUs to lift up Black women entrepreneurs
- $3.8 million for education and workforce development, including for boosting diversity in STEM research and a data science and analytics center at Bowie State University, a nurse training program at Prince George’s Community College, Denney House’s workforce development program for underserved communities, and Melwood Horticultural Center’s training program for people with disabilities
- Over $4 million for community development, historical, and cultural initiatives, including for Prince George’s County’s mobile food delivery truck, assistance for homeless mothers and their children, services for people of color with intellectual and developmental disabilities, upgrades at Allen Pond Park in Bowie, Pleasant View Historic Site preservation and restoration, and the preservation and repair of the historic George Washington House
- $3.5 million for affordable housing, including for a shared equity homeownership program to support owner-occupied housing, and Montgomery County’s low income housing electrification and indoor air quality improvements program
- $1.9 million for health care, including for the modernization of a behavioral health clinic for our service members, veterans, and their families, and the Roberta’s House culturally responsive grief support program
- $650,000 for public safety, including for a sports-focused violence prevention initiative and digitization of case management and evidence processing in the Prince George’s County Office of the State’s Attorney
- $500,000 for infrastructure through flood control and hazardous substance remediation near Lower Beaverdam Creek in Prince George’s County
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Project Name: The Equity Incubator at the Universities at Shady Grove
Applicant: The Universities at Shady Grove
Description: Operated by the Universities at Shady Grove’s Lab for Entrepreneurship and Transformative Leadership, the Equity Incubator provides guidance and support to groups of entrepreneurs and includes an 8-week long intensive program with weekly workshops and mentor meetings, and a venture pitch to a panel of judges. Funds will be used to expand the Equity Incubator program to meet demand.
Project Location: Rockville, MD
Amount Included: $956,000
Project Name: Maryland Economic Opportunity Center
Applicant: University of Maryland, College Park
Description: Funds will be used to support the Center's work as a hub helping to start, grow, and sustain small businesses from underserved communities across the state by connecting business owners with assistance in planning, financing, marketing, and other services and identifying and filling gaps in services available to the minority and women-owned small businesses. The Center also provides paid internships to UMD students to apply their academic lessons to the real world of helping underserved business owners to succeed.
Project Location: College Park, MD
Amount Included: $2,250,000
Project Name: National Veteran Institute for Procurement
Applicant: Montgomery County Chamber Community Foundation
Description: Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) provides technical assistance on government and industry procurement processes, networking and connections to potential customers, and opportunities for veteran-owned companies to stay connected and support each other. Funds will be used to expand VIP training classes to accommodate increased demand and allow up to 450 service-disabled and veteran-owned small businesses to participate in the program.
Project Location: Rockville, MD
Amount Included: $2,000,000
Project Name: TEDCO Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneurs
Applicant: Maryland Technology Development Corporation
Description: Funds will be used to support TEDCO's new Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneurs, a partnership with Maryland's four HBCUs to determine these entrepreneurs' needs at the intersection of research, tech transfer, and education.
Project Location: Columbia, MD
Amount Included: $418,000
EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Project Name: Bowie State University STEM Diversity in Research Opportunities Collaboration
Applicant: Bowie State University
Description: Funds will be used to increase collaboration among STEM fields at Bowie State University, including life sciences, health care, cybersecurity, information systems, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. It will advance workforce and entrepreneurial opportunities for students and faculty to commercialize research that crosses critical sectors.
Project Location: Bowie, MD
Amount Included: $1,500,000
Project Name: Building Maryland's Nursing Workforce
Applicant: Prince George's Community College
Description: In Maryland, the pandemic resulted in a shortage of 2,600 nurses and an increase in the rate of nurses leaving the field per year from 17% pre-COVID to 33%. In February of 2022, the Maryland Hospital Association stated in a news release that the "staggering workforce shortage" is limiting hospitals' "capacity to meet the needs of all Maryland residents." Prince George's County Community College will help meet the region's critical nursing workforce needs by expanding their certified nursing assistant program to their Laurel campus with the addition of a full CNA lab and providing a new and updated nursing program lab and simulation equipment on the Largo campus. The new labs and simulation equipment will expand nursing and certified nursing assistant students’ practical and clinical experience opportunities.
Project Location: Largo, MD
Amount Included: $971,000
Project Name: Data Science and Analytics Center
Applicant: Bowie State University
Description: Bowie State University’s Center for Data Science and Data Analytics Center pulls on existing university resources for research, training, and industry partnerships. Federal funding will support a collaboration among the university, government, and industry partners in research and curriculum development to improve data analytics and train an underrepresented population in this fast-growing STEM field.
Project Location: Bowie, MD
Amount Included: $638,000
Project Name: Denney House Workforce Development Program
Applicant: The Denney House Inc.
Description: TDHWorks trains individuals from underserved communities to be successful in the workplace through development of essential soft and social skills necessary to gain and maintain employment; financial literacy; college and career exploration; trade certification; and job placement. Funds will be used to expand existing programming to provide training year round.
Project Location: Clinton, MD
Amount Included: $200,000
Project Name: Melwood Neurodivergent Workforce Initiative
Applicant: Melwood Horticultural Center
Description: Melwood is an employer, advocate, and provider of services to people with disabilities. It has a heavy focus on pre-employment training as a means of driving empowerment and inclusion and bringing down the unemployment rate for people with disabilities, which remains more than double that of those without disabilities. Federal funding would help Melwood expand abilIT, a neurodiverse workforce program that provides both technical and professional development training to help people with disabilities succeed in the job market, supporting up to 80 trainees with classes to earn industry-recognized certifications. In addition to working with job seekers, Melwood will work directly with hiring organizations to ensure ongoing success for placed candidates, including management and co-worker training so that retention and growth opportunities are included in organizational plans.
Project Location: Upper Marlboro, MD
Amount Included: $500,000
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, HISTORICAL, AND CULTURAL INITIATIVES
Project Name: Allen Pond Park
Applicant: City of Bowie
Description of Proposal: Allen Pond Park is Bowie’s largest park with a playground, turf fields, and an amphitheater. The park is a hub for middle-income residents of all ages as it provides sport fields, an entertainment venue, cultural events, and exercise space. In a 2018 study, it was reported that out of the organized recreational sports groups in Bowie, 47.5% are Bowie residents participating in field sports and the remainder are regional users, displaying how the fields in the park serve both residents and those in the region. The investments in Allen Pond Park will allow for the space to continue to serve the middle-class residents and visitors of Bowie.
Project Location: Bowie, MD
Amount Included: $1,700,000
Project Name: Pleasant View Historic Site Preservation and Restoration
Applicant: Pleasant View Historical Association
Description of Proposal: The Pleasant View Historic Site was the center of an African American Community in Montgomery County for more than 100 years, and serves as an example of how free African American communities in Maryland and across the country came together and sustained themselves after the Civil War. These funds will be used to renovate and stabilize deteriorated buildings on the site so that they can be safe to reopen to the public for tours and meetings and allow the Pleasant View Historical Association to expand existing educational partnerships with Montgomery County Schools and the University of Shady Grove.
Project Location: Gaithersburg, MD
Amount Included: $943,000
Project Name: Preservation and Repair of Historic George Washington House
Applicant: Anacostia Watershed Society
Description: Built in 1752, the George Washington House is a Georgian vernacular-style building considered a prize historic structure for the state. It is one of a constellation of historic buildings and monuments marking Bladensburg’s history as a colonial seaport and War of 1812 battle site. Over centuries, the house has served as an inn, tavern, store, headquarters for an invading army, home to America’s first balloonist, and a birthplace of the populist labor movement. It is currently used as the Anacostia Watershed Society’s headquarters. Federal funding will refurbish the house and upgrade the electrical system to accommodate 21st century office and laboratory equipment. While serving as a working space for the Anacostia Watershed Society, the house will remain available for public tours.
Project Location: Bladensburg, MD
Amount Included: $250,000
Project Name: Prince George's County Mobile Food Delivery Truck
Applicant: Human Service Coalition of Prince George's County, Inc. dba Nonprofit Prince George's County
Description of Proposal: Many residents in Prince George’s County live in food deserts where they have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods and meals. These funds will allow Nonprofit Prince George’s County to purchase a mobile food delivery truck that will expand their service delivery of free foods to vulnerable residents and those in need.
Project Location: Bowie, MD
Amount Included: $513,000
Project Name: St. Ann's Center Pathways Out of Poverty
Applicant: St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families
Description: St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth, and Families was founded in 1860 to serve orphaned and abandoned children and single women in childbirth, with doors open to people of all races and religions. It remains one of a handful of residential programs for homeless mothers and their children in Maryland, and many of the young women they serve have a history of abuse, neglect, extreme poverty, or other trauma. Federal funds will support "Pathways Out of Poverty,” a pioneering and innovative program that will provide holistic and intensive programming, including shelter, education, employment, social services and child care, to eight young Maryland mothers and their children who are facing homelessness or housing insecurity. With these supports, young mothers will create and aim to achieve goals that move their families towards stability and self-sufficiency.
Project Location: Hyattsville, MD
Amount Included: $200,000
Project Name: Support for Black and Brown Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Applicant: The Arc Prince George's County
Description: The Arc Prince George's County is the oldest and largest provider of disability services in the County and is a "one stop shop" for services for individuals with I/DD and their families, delivering comprehensive, person-centered support that meets the needs of individuals throughout their lifespan. The Arc of Prince George’s County serves more than 550 individuals and families on a daily basis, and reaches an additional 2,500 community members annually. Federal funds will allow The Arc to expand its individualized, comprehensive services to address a tremendous backlog of evaluations, services and education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic using a multi-pronged approach to filling gaps in service and help youth with I/DD prepare for life after school and support adults with developmental disabilities with immediate, basic needs.
Project Location: Prince George's County, MD
Amount Included: $539,000
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Project Name: College Park Community Preservation and Housing Trust
Applicant: College Park City-University Partnership
Description of Proposal: The College Park City-University Partnership is establishing a Housing Trust program to provide affordable workforce housing and to stabilize targeted College Park neighborhoods. Today, only 6 percent of UMD faculty and staff live in College Park; many of the neighborhoods nearest the University have expensive rental properties and many potential home buyers can't access homeownership, especially in neighborhoods where home prices have soared astronomically. Federal funds will be used to purchase homes and place them into a Shared Equity Homeownership Program to support owner-occupied homeownership.
Project Location: College Park, MD
Amount Included: $2,500,000
Project Name: Low Income Housing Electrification and Indoor Air Quality Improvements
Applicant: Montgomery County Maryland
Description: Funds will be used to support the Low to Moderate Income Housing Electrification pilot program, which will replace fossil-fuel fired appliances and HVAC with more cost-effective, energy-efficient, and comfortable technologies that will reduce costs for low to moderate income tenants and building owners.
Project Location: Montgomery County, MD
Amount Included: $1,000,000
HEALTH CARE
Project Name: Easterseals Behavioral Health Clinic in Prince George’s County
Applicant: Easterseals Serving DC, MD, VA Inc.
Description: Easterseals operates the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic in Silver Spring, treating more than 700 clients with PTSD, depression, or anxiety a year, using a variety of funding sources to ensure that they never turn away an at-risk military-connected family. They plan to use federal funds to expand their services with a new Behavioral Health Clinic adjacent to the University of Maryland Health Center in Largo. The new Prince George’s County clinic will initially focus on services for children and seniors, including comprehensive case management, individual, group, and family therapy, and other supportive services. In addition to in-person care, the clinic will provide telehealth services and its therapists will travel to Easterseals’ existing Medical Adult Day Centers and Head Start programs on a regular basis.
Project Location: Largo, MD
Amount Included: $900,000
Project Name: Roberta’s House Regional Expansion for Grief and Trauma Services
Applicant: Roberta's House, Inc.
Description: Roberta's House has been meeting a need for trauma-informed, culturally-responsive grief support in the greater Baltimore area and in Prince George’s County for 15 years, addressing community violence and crime, parental incarceration, family separation and deportation, entry into the foster care system, and poverty. Currently, their Prince George’s County services are operated through a satellite location in an office complex that lacks visibility and capacity. Federal funds will be used to establish a new, more accessible location that can accommodate peer support programs and new mental health counseling services and double the average number of individuals served.
Project Location: Prince George’s County, MD
Amount Included: $1,000,000
PUBLIC SAFETY
Project Name: Hoops for Peace Community Violence Intervention
Applicant: Community Kinship Coalition, Inc.
Description: For over three decades, Community Kinship Coalition, Inc.'s (CKC) Annual Hoops for Peace Anti-Violence Youth Summit and Three on Three Basketball Tournament has provided advocacy, mentoring, and resources to over 4,500 youth participants. CKC partners with local universities, school systems, government agencies, and local organizations to provide peer mediation, mentoring, and tutoring in afterschool enrichment programs for students in Prince George’s County. Federal funds will support a Community Violence Intervention League to grow the basketball tournament and build non-violence campaigns in schools and communities.
Project Location: Largo, MD
Amount Included: $150,000
Project Name: Prince George's County Office of the State's Attorney Digital Discovery Capability
Applicant: Office of the State's Attorney, Prince George's County
Description: Funds will be used to streamline and organize the State’s Attorney’s Office case management system, enhancing the ability to process evidence. The new system will integrate data and digital evidence held by county and municipal law enforcement agencies and make it more accessible throughout the discovery process of trial preparation.
Project Location: Upper Marlboro, MD
Amount Included: $500,000
INFRASTRUCTURE
Project Name: Restoration of Lower Beaverdam Creek
Applicant: Prince George's County
Description: Lower Beaverdam Creek is located in the Anacostia River Watershed, a highly urbanized watershed. The restoration effort will focus on flood control and the remediation of hazardous substances. It also seeks to increase resident access to the creek for underserved neighborhoods through an education and outreach program. Federal funds will support the planning and design phase of the project.
Project Location: Prince George's County, MD
Amount Included: $500,000