Murray Announces More Than $30 Million in Federal Grants for Washington State Port Security

Press Release

Murray Announces More Than $30 Million in Federal Grants for Washington State Port Security

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that Washington state ports will receive $30,335,542 for port security efforts across the state this year. The funds, which will now begin to be distributed to state ports, will go toward infrastructure security improvements including chemical detectors, cameras, security gates, access controls, and training and exercises.

"As we work to stabilize our economy and spur investment in Washington state, it is critically important that our ports remain secure and open for business," Senator Murray said. "With millions of containers passing through our region each year, and with thousands of good paying jobs tied to our ports, these grants are critical to ensuring that our state's ports employ the right technology and training methods to help prevent possible attacks."

The funding for these grants was included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Port Security Grant Program. Senator Murray, a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee and a national leader on port security, fought for strong national funding of the Port Security Grant Program.

Senator Murray was a principal author of the SAFE Port Act (P.L. 109-347), which President Bush signed into law in October 2006.

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