BOND: GUARD TO RECEIVE $900 MILLION FOR EQUIPMENT NEEDS
Senator Announces $65 Million for F-15’s and Funds for Key Military Projects
Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Thursday, December 22, 2005
ST. LOUIS, MO - U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that the National Guard will receive $900 million for critical equipment needs in the Congress-passed Defense Appropriations bill. The bill also includes an additional $65 million for the St. Louis-built F-15 and funds for other high priority military and defense projects in Missouri.
“These funds are critical to help our citizen-soldiers meet urgent equipment needs,” said Bond. “As we call upon our Guard and Reserve troops more and more it is our duty to provide them with the resources they need to do their jobs.”
Bond, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Co-Chair of the U.S. Senate National Guard Caucus, said the $900 million in federal funds are included in the fiscal year 2006 Senate Defense Appropriations Conference Report, which passed the Senate late last night and the House earlier this week. The bill will now be sent to the President to be signed into law.
Bond emphasized that since September 11th the Guard has taken on greater responsibilities and risks. As a result, members have been called upon in large numbers to support the War on Terror and disaster assistance. Additional national emergencies could place unrealistic burdens on the Guard. Right now the National Guard has a dangerously low level of equipment available for natural disasters, a potential large-scale terrorist attack and readiness training.
Also, Bond announced the Defense Appropriations bill provided $65 million for F-15 procurement. This announcement supplements the $110 million Bond secured in last year’s defense appropriations bill, bringing the total amount available for F-15 production to $175 million. Bond stressed that the F-15 is an affordable, proven, and effective tactical fighter aircraft.
Bond also secured the following funds for critical Missouri and nationwide military projects, about which Bond said, “These Missouri programs provide our warfighters with an undisputed edge to complete their mission and also high-tech, high-paying jobs for hardworking Missourians.”
* $2,100,000 - Micro/Nano Systems Technology
* $2,800,000 - Hydrogen Ion Implantation Equipment in O’Fallon
* $2,800,000 - Integrated, Unbreakable, Flexible Visible and Infrared Lighting Surfaces for Portable Battlefield Shelters at Crosslink in Fenton
* $2,800,000 - Counter-Terrorism – Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance System, CT-ISR Clean Earth Technologies in St. Louis
* $3,500,000 - Thin Plate Pure Lead Technology in Submarine Applications at Hawker Battery in Warrensburg
* $1,750,000 - Center for Geospatial Intelligence at the University of Missouri-Columbia
* $1,000,000 - Rapid Response Bio-Chem Decon, Liquid and Dry at Decon Green, Steris in St. Louis
* $2,500,00 - High Brightness Laser Diode Source for Fiber Laser Pumps at Nuvonyx in St. Louis
* $1,000,000 - Satellite-based, Missouri Prototype Interoperable Network Communications System, AITS Contract to Support Satellite Communications for DTTP Classrooms
* $2,100,000 - NAVAIR Corrosion Modeling Software Project at ESRD in St. Louis
* $2,100,000 - Execution Technology Implementation at Westar in St. Charles
* $1,400,000 - Self-Decontaminating Selectively Permeable Membranes for Chemical/Biological Agent Protection at BHA in Kansas City
* $1,000,000 - Development and Operation of a Test Range at Fort Leonard Wood for Advanced Sensors and Obscurants
* $1,700,000 - Internet Relay Chat Upgrade at Asynchrony in St. Louis
* $1,400,000 - Knowledge System and Relational Database
* $1,000,000 - Parents as Teachers Demonstration Project
* $1,000,000 - Multi-Purpose Policing -Law Enforcement Academy (MP-LEA) Program at Fort Leonard Wood
* $3,500,000 - Advanced Technology Batteries for USMC Tactical Vehicles at Hawker Battery in Warrensburg ($1,750,000 for Army and $1,750,000 for Marine Corps)
* $2,800,000 - Photonic Mast Upgrades for SSGN Class Submarines
* $72,200,000 - F-15 AESA Radar
* $7,000,000 - Arsenal/Depot AIT Initiative (AD-AIT) at Intermec in St. Louis
* $1,000,000 - Castings for Improved Defense Readiness
* $1,000,000 - Remanufactured Generator Engines at John Deere in Springfield
* $27,009,000 - Procurement Technical Assistance Program
* $300,000 - U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps
* $1,000,000 - Mesorah Heritage Foundation
* $1,400,000 - Passive Materials for Chemical and Biological Agent Protection and Decontamination
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