Transparency:
All CPF requests submitted to the Appropriations Committee by Congressman Connolly will be posted below. Members will be required to certify that neither they nor their immediate family have a financial interest in the CPF requests made.
Projects:
Project: McConnell Public Safety Transportation Operations Center (MPSTOC) Infrastructure Project
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $1,200,000
Background: This project will make infrastructure improvements at the McConnell Public Safety Transportation Operations Center (MPSTOC) by enhancing the situational awareness infrastructure and connectivity between the Public Safety Communications Center, Regional Transportation Center and the County’s Emergency Operations Center, which is also used by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Multiagency Coordination Center for larger regional events. When originally built, MPSTOC was a state-of-the-art facility that is a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Fairfax County charged with coordinating transportation and public safety responses in both the County and Northern Virginia. A key component of these efforts is operational coordination and ensuring state and local transportation and public safety organizations are seeing the same information about ongoing incidents. This project would fund the fund the replacement of Audio/Visual equipment and infrastructure. By increasing situational awareness and connectivity through the real-time sharing of data between the centers, County and state agencies will be more informed which will increase coordination and collaboration and improve overall response and recovery operations.
Project: Fairfax Family and Domestic Violence Shelter
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $900,000
Background: Currently, Fairfax County’s family and domestic violence facilities are both beyond their useful lives. In the case of the domestic violence shelter, the current physical location also presents unique security challenges for the residents and staff. Rather than construct entirely new facilities, the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA) has identified an existing building, which it intends to convert for use as a secure domestic violence shelter and a family shelter that will increase capacity to serve a larger number of residents. This will entail combining rooms, creating service and office space, and other changes from the existing setup. Locating a modern, safe, family and domestic violence shelter in an easy-to-reach, opportunity-rich area next to a police station will give residents the ability to access transit, services, and employment as they and their families begin to rebuild their lives. This project will have a life-changing impact on the approximately 50 families that will use the facility on a daily basis. This request is an important part of the overall project cost, representing an opportunity to deliver this essential, brand new facility years earlier than might otherwise be accomplished.
Project: W&OD Trail & Town of Vienna Initiative
Recipient: Town of Vienna
Amount: $4,000,000
Background: This project would help the Town of Vienna acquire property, renovate, and improve assets along the W&OD Trail. Specifically, this project would support the acquisition of two deteriorated properties to build a welcome center within the Town of Vienna, create a complementary destination asset, expand the Town Green, and make improvements for the development of a safe dual trail network for pedestrians and bicyclists. This project will also have a regional impact because the welcome center would serve the entire 45-mile W&OD Trail. The goal of the project is to turn a blighted condition in the geographic and commercial center of Vienna into a vibrant destination that supports the Town’s economic development goals while providing a safe space for bicyclists and pedestrians to use the trail network that goes through the Town’s commercial core.
Project: Strategic Addition and Special Enhancement to the City of Fairfax Police Station
Recipient: City of Fairfax
Amount: $5,500,000
Background: The City currently plans to build a special purpose 7,000-sf facility physically connected to the existing 30,000-sf police station. The facility will house specialty vehicles, dual training and classroom space, and dedicated areas to enhance community policing. The garage will house specialty police vehicles, equipment storage lockers, and a bicycle maintenance and storage area. The second floor will consist of a multi-purpose training room, offices, an enlarged women’s locker room and sleeping quarters with attending lockers to facilitate emergency response. This project will help the Department better recruit and retain high-performing officers, including women police officers who will receive upgraded facilities as part of this project. The space will also host a wide variety of training and resources enabling more arduous criminal investigations, enhanced documentation, and resources to support thorough and comprehensive capture of evidence to protect public safety.
Project: Fairfax County Safe Streets and Roads for All – Springfield
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $3,200,000
Background: This community project will implement six transportation projects in locations with high crash rates in underserved communities. The projects will include countermeasures with evidence of significant crash reduction. This project aims to reduce pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities by implementing numerous Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proven safety countermeasures targeting three objectives of a Safe System Approach. (1) Safer People – Warning devices such as Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) encourage drivers to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk while the lights are flashing, which is safer, more responsible driving. Per FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures, RRFBs can increase motorist yielding rates by up to 98 percent. (2) Safer Roads – Implementation of projects such as pedestrian refuge islands, separated bicycle lanes, signalized crossings with leading pedestrian intervals and sidewalks create a safer roadway environment to mitigate human errors. (3) Safer Speeds – Context-appropriate implementation of projects can also create a traffic calming effect to promote safer traffic speeds. Improvements to multimodal safety are critical to reducing avoidable, serious accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists. This is essential, as more and more Virginians walk, bike, and utilize transit to travel across the Commonwealth.
Project: Fairfax County Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) Program
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $3,300,000
Background: This project will fund the procurement and installation of vehicle preemption devices on designated traffic signals along primary travel routes; reducing accidents involving emergency vehicles and civilians and improving emergency response times. This project will improve safety for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) employees and civilians on heavily trafficked roads by changing signals for emergency vehicles, avoiding confusion instead of relying on drivers to know when to stop and/or pull over for emergency vehicles. By ensuring green lights for emergency vehicles, response times will improve. Shorter response times mean FRD can begin their work more quickly, which is important in dangerous situations like fires and car accidents. It also means first responders will arrive sooner to provide life-saving care, increasing the number of lives saved.
Project: Sugarland Run Trail Improvements
Recipient: The Town of Herndon, Virginia
Amount: $1,000,000
Background: This project will provide trail improvements for 3,500 feet of the Sugarland Run Trail through Runnymede Park. The project includes trail improvements through the 58-acre nature park to provide improved accessibility for individuals with decreased mobility and to provide improved bicycle connections to the regional trail. Sugarland Run Trail is a regional trail that connects Runnymede Park to the Fairfax County trail system. The section in Runnymede Park is an unimproved natural surface trail that does not meet ADA standards, preventing use by those with decreased mobility. Trail improvements such as paving, boardwalks, and observation areas would make the trail available to individuals with limited mobility, and for cyclists who desire to connect to the regional trail system for access to Metrorail/transit, employment and retail centers, and recreational opportunities. Runnymede Park is used for community events such as the Fishing Derby, Naturefest, and monthly birding walks. The proposed improvements would allow members of the community who, due to limited mobility, cannot currently participate and enjoy these community events and experience the natural beauty of the stream valley to have access, as do others, to these benefits. This trail improvement project will expand the use of the park while helping to preserve and protect its natural environment.
Project: Fairfax County Street Tree Planting and Heat Island Reduction
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $750,000
Background: This project would retrofit areas of Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) rights-of-way for street tree planting. Expanding urban tree canopy is part of Objective 3A of the Virginia Department of Forestry’s 2020 Strategic Plan (e.g., State Forest Action Plan). The project would help expand urban tree canopy and reduce the urban heat island effect in Fairfax County. Additionally, since the majority of Virginia roads are maintained by VDOT, this will set a precedent for street tree planting and reducing urban heat islands in the Commonwealth. Fairfax County is part of Metropolitan Washington, DC-MD-VA Nonattainment Area for the purposes of meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards (Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990). Increasing the area’s tree canopy is cited in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ State Implementation Plan, as required by the Clean Air Act, as a proven and important part of the region’s strategy to improve air quality, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and reduce ground-level ozone.
Project: Northern Virginia Community College Annandale Critical Pipeline Infrastructure Modernization
Recipient: Northern Virginia Community College
Amount: $3,000,000
Background: This project will replace the aging underground utility system at Northern Virginia Community College's Annandale Campus. There are three primary goals for this project that will make it a good use of taxpayer dollars. (1) Ensure Campus Continuity: The current outdated infrastructure has led to frequent closures, disrupting classes, labs, and essential student services. Modernizing the system will ensure uninterrupted operations, providing a stable learning environment for a community of 16,000 students, many of whom are Pell Grant eligible and balancing work and family commitments. (2) Enhancing Student Access and Success: With NOVA's mission of equitable access to higher education, infrastructure failures disproportionately impact students from low-income backgrounds. These improvements will remove barriers to access, allowing students to participate fully in their on-campus classes, labs, and support services, thereby improving their academic success and reducing the risk of dropout. (3) Economic and Social Advancement: As a hub for higher education and workforce development, NOVA's Annandale Campus plays a crucial role in the economic and social advancement of the community. By investing in modernizing the campus infrastructure, the project facilitates the delivery of high-quality education and training, empowering individuals to pursue better job opportunities and contribute more effectively to the local economy and society. Overall, the project's benefits extend beyond the campus walls, positively impacting the broader community by fostering educational attainment, supporting student success, and driving economic opportunity.
Project: Blenheim Boulevard Multimodal Improvements
Recipient: City of Fairfax
Amount: $6,000,000
Background: Fairfax City is redesigning the Blenheim Boulevard corridor between Layton Hall Drive and Ridge Avenue with multimodal transportation improvements. This project will benefit the community in the following ways: 1) The project will improve pedestrian safety. The project will provide new, continuous sidewalks along both sides of the corridor. Today, sidewalks are not continuous, and in some locations, are just areas of asphalt separated from vehicular traffic by flex posts. 2) The project will improve bicyclist safety through the provision of a two-way separated cycle track along the north side of the roadway. This corridor is a designated bicycle route between George Mason University and the Vienna Metrorail station and today lacks bicycle facilities. The City will also be expanding a new bike share network onto Blenheim Boulevard with the placement of two bike share stations on the corridor. 3) The project will improve motorist safety through the standardization of the roadway typical section and to provide continuous curblines, which will help curb aggressive driving behavior. The project will also provide four new left turn pockets onto destination side streets with higher turn volumes.
Project: DNA Forensic Project
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $100,000
Background: This project would fund the procurement of a sterile wet vacuum DNA recovery system. This forensic technology has the capability to extract DNA that traditional methodologies do not. The equipment can collect DNA from both porous and non-porous surfaces and has also been successful in processing spent cartridge cases. In the past year alone, this technology has been instrumental in obtaining DNA profiles that led to the closure of two homicide investigations. As it stands, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) spends approximately $5,000 per case to outsource evidence to private laboratories for the use of this technology.
Project: Fairfax County Public Safety Communications Critical Infrastructure Project
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $3,000,000
Background: This project would fund an alternate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP/9-1-1 Center) for Fairfax County. The Department of Public Safety Communications’ (DPSC) mandate is to conduct continuous essential operations with near zero down time of 9-1-1 services. Real world experience (power outages, emergent maintenance, COVID) and industry best practices require an alternate operating location to support Agency 24/7 Continuity of Operations (COOP). The current alternate facility is beyond its useful life. This project would fund the technology needed to support the alternate center.
Project: Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS) Training Project
Recipient: Fairfax County Government
Amount: $175,000
Background: This project would provide funding for an incident command training setup for the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) through the Advanced Disaster Management Simulator (ADMS), a virtual reality training platform designed to prepare emergency responders and disaster management. The technology incorporates elements from the incident command structure (ICS), and trainees are placed into an unscripted and open-ended scenario dictated by the simulator operator on a control station to evoke real-life/time responses. The simulator also provides trainees opportunities to witness the consequences of their decision, enhancing their skills and understanding. There are a variety of different settings and scenarios trainees can be put through and the ADMS removes the logistics issues involved with orchestrating large scale incident training. This simulator will provide law enforcement training to the FCPD.
Project: Internet Name Space Observatory (INSO)
Recipient: George Mason University
Amount: $1,000,000
Background: The Internet Namespace Security Observatory (INSO) will be a first-in-the-nation center to focus research on DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) adoption and Domain Name System security and resiliency with the objectives of strengthening the Domain Name System and Internet against cyber-attacks. The INSO will produce foundational research on the alternative strategies for Domain Name System resilience that will provide a quantitative basis for DNS operators to decide on increased investment and technology evolution paths including for DNSSEC adoption. NIST developed the “Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations” (SP 800-53), mandating DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC), the “Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Deployment Guide” (SP 800-81-2), Zero Trust Architecture guidance (SP 800-207), and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. These NIST initiatives include two DNSSEC related security controls (SC-20 and SC-21, in SP 800-53) and the development of the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity and the Secure Software Development Framework, new standards for personal data security regulation and digital identity research. In addition, NIST’s High Assurance Domains (HAD) project illustrated the innovation potential that vibrant DNSSEC deployment enables. Research results from the INSO including near real time monitoring of Domain Name System operations with the INSO Cybersecurity Operations Center will help to formally quantify cybersecurity and resilience benefits that are being derived from DNS investment, DNSSEC adoption, and cybersecurity policies and mandates. In this way, the INSO will contribute to protecting and enabling technology innovations by safeguarding the security of critical Internet Domain Name Infrastructure. This project is a good use of taxpayer dollars because it is consistent with both recent and longstanding federal cybersecurity priorities. NIST SP 800-53 mandates DNSSEC deployment throughout .gov domains, and the INSO will produce research results that will illustrate the benefits of, and lead to new innovations in, these deployments. In addition, Executive Order 14028 outlines several priorities addressed by the INSO and its DNS focus: removing barriers to Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence (CTI) sharing, modernizing cybersecurity with Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA), enhancing supply chain security, and establishing a Cyber Safety Review Boards. Further, the Executive Office of the President previously issued OMB Memorandum M-08-23, mandating the Domain Name System’s (DNS’) Security Extensions (DNSSEC) for all .gov domains. The INSO’s focus on safeguarding the DNS is critical in enabling these priorities, and also as a foundation for other enhanced protections. As the DNS is foundational in Internet operations, the INSO will directly lead to and stimulate, novel research results that will include novel Zero-Trust CTI, secure vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications for aerial and automotive sectors, security for enhanced Mobile Broadband over 5G, and secure healthcare platforms.
Project: Research Center on Drinking Water of the Metropolitan Washington Area
Recipient: Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Amount: $1,700,000
Background: This project would establish a research center to help drinking water systems mitigate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the drinking water of the Metropolitan Washington area. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because drinking water systems across the country will soon need to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s newly finalized rule “PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation” limiting levels of six PFAS in drinking water. In order to come into compliance with this regulation, drinking water systems will need to invest in infrastructure upgrades, and the Center will conduct research to ensure that these investment decisions are data driven and based on science by facilitating communication among partners to identify priorities and develop a map of source reduction and pollution prevention efforts; conducting new research to address known priorities of highest urgency; and developing a strategic research and implementation plan for the region, with recommendations for stakeholders. The Center will develop multilateral partnerships throughout the region and with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to ensure compliance. This funding is consistent with widely-supported bipartisan goal of reducing PFAS in the environment.
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