Montana northern border ports to receive estimated $77 million

Stimulus money will create jobs, improve commerce & security

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – Five ports of entry along Montana’s northern border with Canada will receive an estimated $77 million in funding thanks to the recently passed stimulus bill, Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced today.

The $77 million will boost Montana’s economy by creating jobs and investing in ports of entry that keep America safe and facilitate cross-border commerce.

Baucus and Tester said the stimulus bill will set aside the following funding for Montana (final dollar amounts will depend on the final contracts awarded):

• Port of Scobey: $14,969,565
• Port of Wild Horse: $15,869,565
• Port of Del Bonita: $16,469,565
• Port of Morgan: $14,469,565
• Port of Whitetail: $15,469,565
  TOTAL: $77,247,160

The money will be used to refurbish, remodel or, in some cases, perhaps rebuild the ports of entry.

The $77 million announced today is in addition to the nearly $1 billion Montana is already receiving from the federal stimulus plan, which Baucus and Tester call the Jobs Bill. The Jobs Bill is also delivering more than $500 million in tax relief to Montana residents.

Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, has long been an advocate of securing the northern border and recently pushed for funding during a meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“This is good news for all of Montana and especially for communities across the northern tier,” Baucus said. “I helped write the Jobs Bill because it’s a smart way to create good-paying jobs and turn our economy around, and I’m glad to see that funding is going to good projects like ports of entry along our northern border.”

Tester, a member of both the Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, also pushed Napolitano for funding. He also urged the federal government to invest in new facilities while touring the Port of Scobey with then-Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Paul Schneider last summer.
 
“This is another reason I supported and voted for the Jobs Bill,” Tester said. “Investing in these ports strengthens our homeland security and increases our commercial opportunities on the Hi-Line. This will pay off for generations to come by creating new jobs and opportunity that will benefit all of Montana.”

Earlier this week, Baucus and Tester announced that the Jobs Bill will provide an additional $60 million to help build the Ft. Peck/Dry Prairie Rural Water System and the Rocky Boys/North Central Regional Water System—projects which will create jobs and invest in clean, reliable drinking water for tens of thousands of Montanans.