Ruppersberger Secures $430 Million for Maryland-Based Military-Based Military Projects

Press Release

The House Appropriations Committee today passed a defense funding bill that includes a 2.7 percent pay raise for troops as well as more than $430 million to boost programs and projects supporting Maryland's military installations and service-connected economy. The Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2022 now heads to the full U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

The $706 billion Defense appropriations bill funds agencies and programs in the Department of Defense including the National Security Agency, U.S. Military Academies and military services. The bill also funds intelligence efforts outside of the Pentagon at organizations like the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency. A summary can be found here.

A Defense Appropriator, Congressman Ruppersberger leveraged his role to secure funding that will benefit Maryland's 15 military installations -- which support more than 150,000 jobs -- as well as the research and development conducted by Maryland-based contractors to make American troops safer on the battlefield. Together, they compromise 15 percent of the state's economy.

"I am proud to represent a district and state home to many military facilities and families," said Congressman Ruppersberger. "This bill will provide a direct benefit to them and all of our nation's heroes who make enormous sacrifices every day. It honors the mission of our troops by adequately funding programs to care for them and their families, both at home and on the battlefield."

Much of the federal government's medical research funds are funneled through the Defense spending bill because of their impact on wounded warriors and veterans. Congressman Ruppersberger helped secure increases in funding for military projects and medical research underway in Maryland. Highlights include:

$31 million for infrastructure improvements at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis;
$30 million for the Peer-Reviewed Orthopedic Research Program, which includes the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine;
$5 million for a pilot program to expand telehealth services to children in military families with severe behavioral challenges that currently includes Kennedy Krieger Institute;
$20 million for the Army Artificial Intelligence Innovation Institute at the Army Research Lab headquartered in Maryland;
$20 million over the President's budget to secure the Department of Defense's Information Network, an effort spearheaded by the Fort Meade-based Defense Information Security Agency;
$5 million for the Materials in Extreme Dynamic Environments Program, which supports better armor for troops using research at Maryland institutions including Johns Hopkins University;
$20 million for the Joint Research Laboratory at the University of Maryland;
$40 million for the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, which includes peer-reviewers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine;
$155 million for the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, to improve water quality, fight sea level rise and reduce land-use conflicts on and near military installations like Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Additionally, the bill included several critical provisions supported by Congressman Ruppersberger that:

Provide $1 million to the Army for renaming installations, facilities and roads that bear the name of Confederates;
Require for-profit contractors to pay a minimum wage of $15 an hour;
Prohibit funds to support or facilitate offensive military operations conducted by the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in the war in Yemen.
Congressman Ruppersberger's district is home to both Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground, as well as several National Guard facilities. In addition to serving on the Defense Appropriations Committee, Congressman Ruppersberger co-chairs the bipartisan House Army Caucus and is Chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, on which he has served for the last 11 years.

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