Nearly $100M In Funding Will Support Baltimore Shipbuilders
BALTIMORE (WJZ)--Shipbuilders could get a boost in Baltimore.
The Curtis Bay shipyard is on deck to receive tens of millions of dollars in Homeland Security funding.
It's a lifeline for workers here and the mission of Senator Barbara Mikulski is to guarantee the survival of the Coast Guard shipyard.
She's steering nearly $100-million federal dollars toward approval for Curtis Bay.
"I know that I'm built like a tugboat and I bring my own weight, but if you want some of those snappy vessels you're building here, I've been known to be an icebreaker," said Mikulski. "I've never been a tall ship, but we all work to get the job done."
The Curtis Bay Coast Guard yard will receive $94 million in the 2017 Homeland Security appropriation.
The funding supports the Coast Guard's only shipbuilding facility and repairs for 140 ice breaking tugs and fleet of cutters that make navigating safe and reliable for shippers.
Eighty-nine military personnel and more than 500 civilians make their livings here.
"Because the Coast Guard is so important to the defense of the nation, doing everything from drug interdiction, law enforcement on the high seas, to search and rescue, I believe we'll get the job done," said Mikulski.
The job is to get full passage of the appropriation in the House and Senate, and to the president's desk by Labor Day.
The senator was honored for her commitment today.
From the men and women of the United States Coast Guard Yard Curtis Bay Maryland
This will be her last effort on behalf of the shipyard before she retires.
Senator Mikulski worked to protect the shipyard from being closed in 1988.
Senator Mikulski received the Coast Guard's distinguished public service award, its highest civilian honor.
