Federal Funds for St. Mary’s

Originally Published: March 15, 2024

Delegation Obtains Appropriations Bill Money

A few St. Mary’s County community projects will receive funding from the Federal Appropriations Bill passed last week thanks to the efforts of Congressman Steny Hoyer, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Ben Cardin. In press releases, the Federal Delegation highlighted different projects to receive funding across Maryland.

The YMCA Great Mills project will receive $850K. Previously, the County had requested up to $3M, but reduced the ask to $2M to cover the “remaining unfunded balance estimated to complete” the project according to a letter sent to Hoyer on March 5th by the Commissioners. Nevertheless $850K is a huge help in closing the funding gap.

Next, Reach Back and Lift 1(RB&L1) will receive $500K for “The Connect” project. Hoyer’s press states “this funding will create a community resource in St. Mary’s County’s most impoverished area by purchasing and renovating a previous car dealership to house an entrepreneur hub, retail boot camp program, community engagement initiatives, and violence prevention.” RB&L1 is a local non-profit operated by BJ Hall, who said he was “excited” about this opportunity to build the organization into a “significant resource for the County.”

The six funding bills were passed and signed by President Biden last week as part of continued efforts by Congress to avert a Government shutdown in lieu of passing a full budget.