LAUTENBERG: SENATE APPROVES BILL WITH MORE THAN $7 MILLION FOR NEW JERSEY'S PUBLIC SAFETY, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, OTHER PROGRAMS

LAUTENBERG: SENATE APPROVES BILL WITH MORE THAN $7 MILLION FOR NEW JERSEY'S PUBLIC SAFETY, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, OTHER PROGRAMS
Funds Would Improve Technology for First Responders, Provide Mentoring and After-School Programs to Keep Young People From Joining Gangs

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, recently voted to approve a measure that he helped write that would fund the Departments of Commerce, Justice and Science for the upcoming fiscal year.  The measure would provide more than $7 million to New Jersey communities for programs to improve technology for first responders, prevent gang membership, mentor young students and sustain marine wildlife.  The measure must now be merged with companion legislation that has been approved in the House of Representatives. 

"Our first responders put their lives on the line every day, and this funding will provide resources to help them protect themselves and our communities," Sen. Lautenberg said.  "This legislation makes an important investment in educating young people and providing them with opportunities to build a future free of drugs and gangs."

The $7,300,000 total in funding will be divided as follows:

Law Enforcement

· $900,000 - Bergen County for a county-wide public safety radio communication system
· $500,000 - City of Newark for emergency operations interoperability equipment
· $300,000 -  Union City for police technology equipment
· $300,000 - City of Trenton for a gun detection technology system
· $200,000 - Camden City Police Department for a mobile communications center

Juvenile Mentoring and Violence Prevention Programs

· $1,000,000 - New Jersey Institute of Technology to develop a weapon that uses biometric identification technology so only the authorized user can operate the firearm
· $250,000 - All Saints Community Service and Development Corporation in Hoboken for the Jubilee Center Children's Program
· $300,000 - Jersey City Housing Authority for a drug elimination program
· $400,000 - City of Newark for a program to help returning offenders
· $400,000 - USA Swimming Foundation for a youth development program in Asbury Park, Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark and Plainfield
· $250,000 - Plainfield Housing Authority for after-school programs and a gang prevention job training initiative
· $500,000 - Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office for the SPEAK UP Hotline outreach and public education program to reduce weapon-related violence
· $500,000 - Community YMCA in Middletown for a gang prevention program
· $50,000 - Crossroads Programs in Willingboro to fund a youth gang prevention program
· $200,000 - Generations Incorporated in Lindenwold for a youth mentoring program
· $250,000 - KidsPeace for the Cumberland County Therapeutic Foster Care Program

Science and Commerce
· $1,000,000 - Partnership for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Sciences for a multi-state fish stock improvement program

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