Van Hollen, Cardin Announce Appropriations Committee Passage of Over $10 Million for Maryland Small Business and Community Development Projects in Key Funding Legislation

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, and Senator Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) announced the inclusion of $10,855,000 in key Senate Committee legislation providing direct federal funding for community-led projects throughout Maryland. These community projects, funded at the Senators’ request, are within the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government’s proposed funding legislation for fiscal year 2024. The projects seek to help grow Maryland’s small businesses – with a focus on those in underserved areas – and support nonprofit organizations working to meet local community needs. This subcommittee legislation was released as part of the annual Congressional Appropriations process and passed on a bipartisan basis by the full Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month. The bill 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.

“In Congress, one of our top priorities is securing federal investmentsto support our communities. These funds will help advance promising initiatives to help Maryland’s small businesses succeed and promote more inclusive growth across our state. These projects can make a real impact, and that’s why I’m determined to keep workingto get these investments over the finish line,”said Senator Van Hollen.

“Team Maryland continues to work together in an unprecedented way to move forward community-based funding requests that directly support local needs and priorities,” said Senator Cardin. “These projects will expand local capacity, transform neighborhoods, strengthen public safety and protect the integrity of our elections. As Chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I’m especially proud of the resources and tools that will be available to support underserved entrepreneurs and leverage taxpayer dollars for the benefit of our small businesses, working families and regional economies in Maryland and nationwide.”

Critically for Maryland, the legislation also includes $375 million to move forward on a new, consolidated FBI headquarters, which the lawmakers are working to bring to the state.

The Senators secured funding for the following projects in the Senate Appropriations FY2024 Financial Services and General Government funding legislation. Additional projects will be announced as the Subcommittees continue to release their respective bills.

Project Name: African American Heritage Center
Applicant: African American Resources-Cultural and Heritage Society Inc.
Project Location: Frederick County
Amount Included: $162,000
Description: The Society and the City of Frederick are converting a long-vacant city-owned commercial property into an African American Heritage Center to offer exhibits and programs for visitors to learn about Frederick County's history. Funds will be used to support the digitization of historical records.
 
Project Name: Baltimore Community Lending Business Development and Resource Center Program
Applicant: Baltimore Community Lending
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $500,000
Description: Funds will be used to provide technical assistance and coaching services to launch emerging businesses that will provide much needed consumer products and services, create new local jobs, and strengthen the economic foundation of communities in Baltimore.
 
Project Name: Baltimore Community Lending Business Development and Resource Center Site Development
Applicant: Baltimore Community Lending
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $1,000,000
Description: Funds will be used to fit-out a new space for the Business Development and Resource Center and co-working space to support new and emerging small businesses in Baltimore City. The center will be a one-stop-shop for training, support, and access to resources.
 
Project Name: Baltimore Courthouse
Applicant: General Services Administration
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $1,500,000
Description: The existing Edward A. Garmatz Courthouse is unable to meet the long-term space, safety, and security needs of the courts currently housed within the facility. Funds will be used to support site acquisition and design work for a new courthouse.
 
Project Name: Crownsville Hospital Historic Documentation and Storytelling
Applicant: Anne Arundel County
Project Location: Anne Arundel County
Amount Included: $500,000
Description: The Crownsville Hospital has a painful history dating back to 1911, which includes physical and mental experimentation on Black patients. Funds will help preserve records and artifacts and collect oral histories to establish Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park as a museum of reconciliation and healing.
 
Project Name: Exploring, Transitioning and Building with The 3rd
Applicant: The 3rd
Project Location: Columbia
Amount Included: $500,000
Description: Funds will be used to establish a business incubator and accelerator program for women of color that includes capacity building, networking, and access to capital opportunities. The 3rd will serve entrepreneurs in the Baltimore-Washington region in all fields and stages of business.
 
Project Name: Federal Lab Leveraging Innovation to Products (FLLIP) Pilot Program
Applicant: Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO)
Project Location: Howard County
Amount Included: $1,150,000
Description: Funds will help small underrepresented healthcare and biotech businesses in Maryland form productive partnerships with the state’s more than 70 federal labs, enabling them to develop innovative solutions to healthcare challenges and grow their businesses and our economy.
 
Project Name: Government Certifications Contracting & Match Making Solutions Center
Applicant: Morgan State University Foundation Inc. Baltimore Metropolitan Women's Business Center
Project Location: Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard, Carroll, Harford, and Charles Counties
Amount Included: $700,000
Description: Women-owned businesses, including those owned by veterans and women of color, are underrepresented in government federal, state, and local contracting. Funds will be used to provide technical assistance and coaching to help these businesses successfully access contracting opportunities.
 
Project Name: Increasing Diversity in State Contracting
Applicant: State of Maryland
Project Location: Statewide
Amount Included: $740,000
Description: Funds will be used to create a mentoring service network and ongoing, interactive training for historically underserved businesses to successfully find, respond to, and secure state and/or local government contracts.
 
Project Name: Museum of the Blind People's Movement
Applicant: National Federation of the Blind
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $301,000
Description: The Museum of the Blind People's Movement will be the first museum owned and operated by the blind in the US, and will be a national platform to explore the struggles and successes of the blind as individuals and a movement. Funds will preserve archives and documents for inclusion in the museum.
 
Project Name: Maryland Child Care Support
Applicant: Maryland Family Network
Project Location: All counties in MD
Amount Included: $632,000
Description: Funds will expand the Growing Opportunities for Family Child Care Program, supporting the creation of new licensed family child care programs with professional development and business coaching. The program will serve 220 participants, creating affordable child care options for Maryland families.
 
Project Name: Pathways to Emerging Markets for Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs
Applicant: Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council
Project Location: Silver Spring
Amount Included: $300,000
Description: Funds will be used to provide technical assistance and support for technology transfer to new small and women- and minority-owned businesses in emerging markets like microchip manufacturing and cybersecurity so they can successfully advance cutting-edge research and product development.
 
Project Name: Raymond V. Haysbert Center for Entrepreneurship Small Business Support
Applicant: Greater Baltimore Urban League
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $850,000
Description: Funds will support the expansion of the Raymond V. Haysbert Center for Entrepreneurship, which provides education, instruction, and technical and management guidance for entrepreneurs to pursue a path to prosperity.
  
Project Name: RIDE (Returning Citizens Inspired to Develop Entrepreneurial Ventures) Entrepreneurship Resource Center
Applicant: Morgan State University
Project Location: Baltimore City
Amount Included: $1,500,000
Description: Funds will establish a new center for entrepreneurship and leadership training for formerly incarcerated individuals, empowering them to start their own businesses and become community leaders. By providing training and support, the center will incubate new businesses and reduce recidivism.
 
Project Name: Small Business Legal and Technical Assistance Program for Maryland Legacy Businesses
Applicant: Latino Economic Development Corporation
Project Location: Prince George's, Montgomery, and Baltimore Counties
Amount Included: $250,000
Description: Funds will support the continuation and expansion of LEDC's technical assistance program, which helps stabilize and sustain small businesses and microenterprises, particularly in neighborhoods undergoing rapid change that could increase the risk of displacement.
 
Project Name: Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce Project Excel
Applicant: Southern Maryland Minority Chamber of Commerce
Project Location: Calvert, Charles, St. Mary's, and Prince George's Counties
Amount Included: $270,000
Description: Funds will support Project Excel in providing training and individualized consultations to developing minority-owned small and micro businesses, helping them grow, mitigate risk, and achieve long-term success. 

Additional highlights from the FY24 Financial Services and General Government funding billinclude:

• Department of Treasury: The bill provides $1.884 billion for the Department of Treasury (excluding the IRS) to carry out its wide-ranging responsibilities of strengthening and protecting our economy, supporting American families, regulating our banks, enforcing our sanctions against Russia, Iran, drug cartels, and other bad actors, and more.

• Small Business Administration: The bill includes $1.219 billion for the Small Business Administration to support small businesses across America and connect them with the resources they need to thrive, including $320 million for key entrepreneurial development programs.

• Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP): The bill provides $479 million—an increase of $8 million above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level—for the Office of National Drug Control Policy to coordinate the whole-of-government response to the opioid and substance use disorder crises, stop drug trafficking, and address addiction. ONDCP also delivers resources directly to communities to address the substance use disorder crisis.

• High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program: The bill provides $301 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, to provide assistance to Federal, State, and local law enforcement entities operating in those areas most adversely affecting by drug trafficking. HIDTA is directed to pay particular attention to areas with the highest rates of overdose deaths.

• Federal Judiciary: The bill provides $8.568 billion for the federal judiciary—an increase of $106 million above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level—for operations of our nation’s courtrooms, with additional funding to enhance cybersecurity within the judiciary and for IT modernization.

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC): The bill provides $411 million—a $20 million increase above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level—for the FCC, in part to support its critical work connecting Americans across the country to high-speed internet.

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC): The bill provides $450 million—a $20 million increase above the fiscal year 2023 enacted level—for the FTC, which plays a vital role in protecting Americans from consumer fraud, like vulnerable seniors who are often the target of criminals.

• Pandemic Preparedness: The bill funds the new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response housed within the White House, which was established last year by Senator Murray to serve as a mission control and ensure there is a team in place, ready to go 24/7 in order to guide an all-of-government response to new and emerging public health threats.

• Americans’ Retirement Savings: The bill directs $15 million in funding to implement a provision in SECURE 2.0 – which was signed into law in December—to help states locate treasury securities that individuals have lost track of or are missing.

• Fraud Detection: The bill provides funding to track where federal dollars go and ensure there’s detection of criminals taking advantage of federal programs and support. In particular, the bill provides funding for the Pandemic Recovery Accountability Committee to continue its critical work overseeing and detecting fraud reported across a host of pandemic relief programs and to help make the affordable, flexible, and scalable analytics platform it developed to identify potential improper payments in COVID relief available for all Inspectors General to use across government. The bill also increases funding to support the work of the Small Business Administration’s Inspector General.

• Election Security: The bill includes $75 million for election security grants—extending funding to protect the integrity of our elections.