Officials at a College Station-based training facility that prepares first responders for terrorist attacks are awaiting word on federal funding that would ensure its nationally recognized programs continue.
If a spending bill pending in the U.S. Senate is approved and signed into law, the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center at Texas A&M will receive a $23 million grant for anti-terrorism training.
The grant is vital to ensuring that the nation's emergency personnel are properly equipped to serve the country in a disaster, said Bill May, associate director for the Texas Engineering Extension Service, the state agency that operates the training program.
"We are the most critical product from a national perspective," May said. "We prevent and protect the nation against catastrophic events, and it is critical that we meet our duties to the state. We are proud to be one of the five major cities selected for national training."
Similar training programs are based in Anniston, Ala., Socorro, N.M., Baton Rouge, La., and Las Vegas.
The training center at Texas A&M University's Riverside Campus began in 1998 and has received increased funding each year.
The center began with an $800,000 grant, but after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, funding increased to $15 million. If next year's $23 million allocation is approved, it will match this year's funding level.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a member of the appropriations committee, has long been an advocate of the center's mission.
"Throughout my career, I have encouraged Texas universities to focus on the creation of 'centers of excellence,' making them more competitive in the fight for federal funding," Hutchison said in an e-mail to The Eagle. "NERRTC is clearly a national 'center of excellence,' and I've enjoyed working with the NERRTC team for over a decade to ensure America's first responders get the training they so vitally need, and Texas A&M remains on the forefront of disaster and terrorism preparedness."
U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, added $1.3 million to a 2010 spending bill that would help fund a separate training program administered by TEEX. The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program is designed to help police officers learn to respond to an active shooter situation.
Edwards also earmarked $300,000 for the Texas Forensic Science Academy at TEEX.
"We've had the greatest support from Congressman Edwards," May said. "He has enabled us to get support in the House and, thanks to him, continue the necessary training that is vital to homeland security. He's a great champion."
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