Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has allocated an additional $500,000 to the State of California for San Bernardino County to defray costs incurred by state and local agencies from law enforcement’s response to the Inland Regional Center terror attack on December 2, 2015. This is the second installment of federal funds to recover costs incurred from the response to the attack, which totals $1,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2016.

“I’m glad to see federal funds come back to our community to help local law enforcement recoup the costs suffered from the heroic response to the terror attack on December 2nd. Chief Burguan and Sheriff McMahon have been remarkable advocates for our community in the aftermath of the attack and have been a source of strength for our region,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “The federal government has an important responsibility to help localities like San Bernardino County that have endured extraordinary emergency situations like this, so I’m pleased to see that help is on the way as our region continues to recover.”

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan responded, “Myself, along with the City of San Bernardino very much appreciates our federal partners that have continued to show their support to our community.”

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon added, “In these unforeseen incidents, the financial impact is extensive. We are grateful for the expeditious assistance provided by DOJ in the financial recovery process. We are appreciative for the continuous efforts of Congressman Aguilar, and his staff, to ensure this reimbursement.”

Representative Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who has also been instrumental in helping to access federal funds commented, “The San Bernardino terror attack is a grave reminder that terrorists ultimate goal is to kill Americans at home. I’m grateful that the DOJ has recognized the importance of supporting our local law enforcement agencies by awarding this deserved funding to offset the enormous costs incurred by local law enforcement as they bravely responded to the devastating attack in our region last December. This grant recognizes the federal obligation to help make local communities whole for responding to a federal responsibility.  I will continue to work to ensure that local agencies are properly reimbursed as they protect our region.”

The grant awarded by the DOJ is to help reimburse state and local agencies that were involved in the response to the terror attack at the Inland Regional Center on December 2^nd. Reimbursements from the federal funds will go toward overtime and regular salary costs. This is the second DOJ grant awarded this year, bringing the federal reimbursement total to $1,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2016. In March, Reps. Aguilar and Calvert sent a formal request to the House Appropriations Committee, asking that federal funds be allocated through the DOJ to support programs for localities like San Bernardino recover costs sustained from extraordinary emergency events like the terror attack on December 2^nd. Their formal request can be read in full here. The DOJ’s latest announcement of federal funds to help San Bernardino County agencies can be found here.