Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-D) announced the fiscal year 2008 Commerce, Science and Justice Appropriations bill, approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday, includes significant investments for law enforcement agencies and first responders in Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District.

Overall, the bill represents a reversal of years of drastic cuts to critical state and local law enforcement assistance programs under previous Republican Congresses.  From 2001 to 2006, funding for grant programs, such as COPS and the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, was slashed by 42 percent – from $4.4 billion to $2.5 billion.  Meanwhile, last year, the FBI reported that violent crime had its biggest increase in over a decade.

“This legislation contains critical investments for equipping law enforcement agencies and first responders with the resources they need to protect our citizens and keep our communities safe.” stated Rep. Hoyer.

“Arguably, one of the most critical tools for law enforcement and first responders is the ability to communicate and share information in a timely and effective manner,” Hoyer said. “That is why I am pleased to announce that this bill provides significant investments for the acquisition of and upgrades for interoperable radio and data technology for communities throughout the Fifth District.”

At Congressman Hoyer’s request, the following funding was included for Fifth District projects in the bill passed by the House:

– St. Mary’s County Mobile Data Terminals – $786,000 to allow interpoerability and “real-time” access to records between law enforcement agencies. The funding will be used for the continued integration and completion of a Mobile Data Computer (MDC) project, which was partially funded through a COPS Technology grant in FY06.

– Calvert County Mobile Command Unit – $800,000 to equip the Special Operations Team with a command station capability from any disaster location. Calvert County faces unique homeland security and public safety issues as it is home to the only nuclear power plant in Maryland and the largest liquid natural gas docking facility in the nation, and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office is the primary responding agency for both facilities. Although this office has a Special Operations Team specially trained in HAZMAT, it does not have a mobile command unit from which to operate once their resources are on-site.  In fact, despite its proximity to the Nation’s Capital and its location on the coastline of the Chesapeake Bay, Calvert County has no mobile command unit for any disaster, whether man-made or natural.

– Prince George’s County Interoperable Radio System – $1,900,000 to support the acquisition of Prince George’s County’s Interoperable Radio System. Prince George’s County’s proximity to the Nation’s Capital and its role in supporting many critical federal agencies requires its first responders to effectively communicate with each other and with regional partners in the Washington area.  Unfortunately, the County’s current communications system offers only very limited capacity for the its first responders to interoperate with each other and offers no capability to communicate with other jurisdictions in the region.

“This funding will considerably strengthen Prince George’s County’s ability to respond to local emergencies and coordinate with federal and state partners on regional emergency response,” sta