Thursday, September 7, 2006

CONTACT: Barry E. Piatt
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) announced Thursday the Senate has approved an appropriations bill that bolsters the missions at North Dakota’s military installations, and directs funding to high-tech research and development in the state. The bill also includes a Conrad-Dorgan amendment providing funding for an intelligence team dedicated to bringing Osama bin Laden to justice.

Dorgan and Conrad said the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Appropriations bill includes more than $1.4 billion to support missions that are critical to North Dakota’s military bases – including Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) missions, B-52 bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The bill also includes a 2.2 percent military pay raise and other increases in benefits for those serving their country in the military.

Senator Dorgan, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, included nearly $100 million in the bill to support high-tech projects in North Dakota. The funding will not only enhance our nation’s security, but also boost the research and development activities in the Red River Valley Research Corridor that are providing important new technology to the Department of Defense while spurring the local economy and creating high-quality jobs.

The bill also includes a provision that prohibits the Pentagon from retiring any B-52s until after it provides Congress a report that assesses the risk to national security of cutting the bomber force. In addition, the bill also includes an amendment authored by Senator Conrad to upgrade the nation’s fleet of B-52 bombers with new weapon capabilities. Senator Conrad’s amendment calls for $6 million to upgrade B-52s allowing the planes to carry GPS-guided weapons internally. This change to the weapons system will significantly decrease the fuel consumption of the aircraft, and helps to preserve the B-52 mission at Minot Air Force Base.

“The Senate has approved a significant new investment in North Dakota’s military installations and high-tech research sector, and gives a much-deserved hike in pay for our military personnel,” Dorgan said. “That is a good sign of the commitment our country has made to our state’s role in maintaining national security, and proof of the Red River Valley Research Corridor’s growing reputation as a center of high-tech research and development.”

“This bill is a major investment in North Dakota. It directs millions of dollars to improve our bases and conduct state-of the-art defense research at our educational institutions,” Senator Conrad said. “Passage of this bill validates the fact that North Dakota plays an integral part in our nation’s defense.”

Attached is a list of North Dakota projects in the bill.

Northern Tier Network
$5 million
This funding will significantly increase the region’s competitiveness and promote economic development by linking UND, NDSU and other institutions and businesses in North Dakota to the next generation network infrastructure. By providing a connection several times better than currently available in North Dakota, the Northern Tier Network will improve the region’s ability to compete for research funding and business collaborations.

Ultra-low Power Battlefield Sensor System
$29.85 million
In this project, NDSU is working with several major electronics firms to develop microsensors the U.S. military would use to improve awareness of potential threats and the defense of high-value targets. The project has already created prototype microsensors that are a fraction of the size and cost of existing systems.

Chameleon Miniaturized Wireless System
$12 million
This is a joint project between NDSU and several leading electronics firms to develop a covert surveillance system that would collect and transmit intelligence information from hidden sensors.

Advanced Fouling and Corrosion Control Coatings
$9 million
NDSU will continue efforts to develop environmentally friendly coatings to protect ships against fouling and corrosion. The project has the potential to save the U.S. Navy hundreds of millions of dollars per year in maintenance and fuel costs. This project is also providing the Defense Center of Excellence at NDSU’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering with revolutionary “discovery” technology that enables the school to analyze thousands of candidate coatings up to 10 to 100 times faster than is possible elsewhere.

Army Corrosion Control: Inhibition and Detection
$1.5 million
This project seeks to extend the service life of military vehicles by designing and testing new, environmentally friendly coatings with improved performance and durability. Researchers also will develop a hand-held corrosion sensor device. The research will be a joint effort of the Polymers and Coating Department at NDSU and Turtle Mountain Manufacturing, a Native-American owned manufacturer of trailers.

ParallelaVax Rapid Vaccine Testing Technology
$2.5 million
This funding will be used by Fargo-based Aldevron LLC to continue development of its innovative vaccine testing technology for use by the Pentagon in preventing some of the world’s most deadly diseases. The company will use its ParalleleVax technology to develop new vaccines against targets of high priority to the Pentagon, such as Ebola, the Marburg virus and the Foot and Mouth virus.

New Methods for Designing and Testing Aircraft Coatings
$2.5 million
This funding will be used by NDSU and the U.S. Air Force to explore ways to limit corrosion on aging aircraft. The funding continues research into environmentally friendly and longer-lasting anti-corrosion coatings.

Durable Hybrid Coatings for Aircraft Systems
$2 million
This funding continues a project at NDSU to develop a multi-functional, durable coating system to protect aircraft against weathering and corrosion. The project will help eliminate $150 million per year in costs that stem from dealing with hazardous wastes associated with painting, stripping and repainting aircraft.

Engineered Surfaces for Weapons Systems’ Life Extension
$5 million
UND will continue working with Alion Science and Technology, Inc, a leading Defense contractor, to develop advanced methods for manufacturing new and replacement parts for Army helicopters and other vehicles. The goal is to increase the service life of those parts by 100 to 300 percent.

Center of Excellence for Defense UAV Education
$3 million
This funding will be used by the Defense Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Center of Excellence at the University of North Dakota. The Center of Excellence will work on issues critical to the Pentagon, such as integrating UAVs into the national airspace system and operating UAVs in cold weather. The Center of Excellence will complement the emerging UAV mission at the nearby Grand Forks Air Force Base. The Defense Center of Excellence was established with funds Senator Dorgan added to the FY 2006 Defense budget.

Air Battle Captain
$2 million
This funding will be used to continue the Army Helicopter Flight Training Program at UND, which trains Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets during the academic year and West Point cadets during the summer.

Advanced Tactical Fuels for the U.S. Military
$5 million
Under this project, UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) is developing a system to generate high-pressure hydrogen from jet fuel and dispense it in the field to fuel-cell powered systems. These funds will enable the EERC to expand the project to include developing jet fuel and other types of fuel from coal and biomass.

Web-based Training for Army First Responders
$2 million
UND will work with a commercial firm to adapt a web-based interactive system to the specific needs of military first responders and medical personnel.

Spartan Advanced Composite Technology
$2 million
This initiative will give Space Age Synthetics of Fargo the opportunity to demonstrate whether the performance of the Spartan SCOUT -- an unmanned Navy patrol vessel used to detect and intercept unconventional threats to American vessels – can be improved by reducing the vessel’s weight by using components made from the company’s composite materials.

Information Technology Center
$2.8 million
This project will enable an established information technology company to hire workers and set up a facility in Minot to do information technology development work for the Navy and other Defense customers.

Precision Parts Manufacturing Facility
$3.85 million
This funding will be used to hire workers and establish a precision manufacturing facility on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to provide replacement parts to Army units in the continental United States. This facility will significantly reduce the idle days that result when vehicles have to wait for needed parts from the standard supply network, particularly for parts that are in short supply or no longer manufactured.

Tool Kit for Small Defense Contractors
$3 million
This funding will by used by Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing, in partnership with Boeing and several information technology companies, to use radio frequency identification (RFID) and other cost-cutting technology and business practices to develop a “tool kit” to help small- and medium-sized companies become more competitive. The resulting “tool kit” will eventually be made available to small- and medium-sized businesses who are subcontractors on Department of Defense projects, saving taxpayer money on federal contracts and helping North Dakota businesses compete for those contracts.

Remote Sensor Integration
$2 million
Pedigree Technologies of Fargo will develop a wireless system for managing and integrating multiple remote intrusion and surveillance sensor networks. This will significantly improve the ability to monitor borders and remote facilities with limited personnel.

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