Strong Ports, Strong Communities Act

Grants for land-port community infrastructure

This bill would create a DHS grant program to fix roads, water, power, telecom, and other infrastructure tied to land ports of entry. Projects must be owned by a State, Tribal, or local government or a not-for-profit, member-owned utility, and be at a port or within 25 miles of one. The Secretary would use CBP's 2024 port modernization report, State capital plans, and family quality-of-life for CBP personnel when selecting projects, and would consult other federal agencies. Recipients would usually provide at least 30 percent of project costs from non-Federal sources, but the Secretary could reduce or waive that match for rural areas (100,000 people or fewer) or for homeland security reasons. The Secretary would also be able to reimburse up to 70 percent of eligible costs spent on or after November 15, 2021. Grants would depend on annual appropriations, and any money Congress provides would remain available until spent.