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Washington, D.C. - Congressman Randy Neugebauer secured $3.3 million for national security research at Texas Tech University in legislation that the House approved on Tuesday. These funds are part of legislation to fund Department of Defense (DOD) initiatives for the 2007 fiscal year.
“Texas Tech has a track record of ground-breaking research that yields real results for our nation’s military,” Neugebauer said. “I’m proud of the work done at Texas Tech, and I’m certain that this investment will help protect our troops on the battlefield and save lives here at home.”
Neugebauer succeeded in getting $1 million for Texas Tech’s Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics included in the final version of the bill. The Center’s work concentrates on developing compact electromagnetic radiation sources to be used as part of standard weapons systems. Among other things, this research will help the U.S. military combat improvised explosive devices (IEDs), such as roadside bombs, which are being used by the enemy on the battlefields of the War on Terror.
Neugebauer was able to include an additional $1.3 million in the bill for the Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. National Program for Countermeasures to Biological and Chemical Threats. The Zumwalt Program is run by The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech. The program focuses on counter-terrorism by developing methods to detect and prevent the threat of biological and chemical agents and weapons of mass destruction, in both urban and rural environments.
Neugebauer also worked to get $1 million for the Maddox Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Devices at Texas Tech to further nanophotonic research. Applications of nanophotonic devices include enhancing communications, remote sensing, and threat detection capabilities for military and homeland security purposes.
The overall bill (H.R. 5631) allocates a total of $377.6 billion to DOD, in addition to a $70 billion “bridge fund” into to be used for ongoing military operations in the War on Terror. Other highlights of the bill include nearly $23 billion to ensure Army and Marine Corps troops are fully equipped with updated and refurbished equipment $725 million for personnel protection items, such as body armor; a 2.2 percent military pay raise; and $9.4 billion for ballistic missile defense.
“This is a good bill that enhances protection measures for our troops, provides them with the tools they need to win the War on Terror, and gives them a well-deserved pay raise,” Neugebauer said.
With House approval of the conference report now complete, the Senate must now approve this same legislation before it goes to the desk of President Bush to be signed into law.
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