"During this week we make an effort to know and understand the duties, responsibilities, hazards, and sacrifices of our law enforcement agencies.  At the same time, members of our law enforcement agencies recognize their duty to serve the people by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence and disorder, and by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression.

"In Congress, it is our duty as public servants to ensure that the police officers that protect our communities have access to life saving equipment.  As first responders, that means they must be even more prepared to face the challenges of providing for our homeland security needs. 

"Recently I hosted a series of first responder forums at which I asked our police officers, in addition to firefighters, emergency preparedness officials, and other responders to fill out a survey to help us measure their needs.  While we are still compiling the results, of the 60 surveys we have received so far, none of our first responders feel they have adequate equipment necessary to implement emergency response plans for their communities. 

"This tells me that our law enforcement agencies and other first responders are not getting the resources they need to protect us against emerging threats.  As a resident of one of those communities, I find it unsettling, and I take it as a call to action.  Once completed, these survey results will help me in making sure that our federal government provides our dedicated first responders with the training, the equipment, and the knowledge they need to keep doing their jobs – protecting and serving their neighbors."

“We have worked hard over the past few months to secure funding for these projects,” Ross said, “and I am pleased to see that not only have the projects been included, but my requests for additional funding for the PAC-3 missiles, Hydra 70, and APKWS were granted.  In total, an additional $110 million was secured for our district, and that means more jobs and economic opportunities for working families in our defense industry.  It also means our troops will be that much safer – in the very first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, we saw how effective the PAC-3 missiles were at intercepting Iraqi missiles and saving the lives of our men and women on the battlefield.  We are still in the preliminary stages of the appropriations process, however, and I will continue to seek the funding our district needs for these worthwhile projects.”

Fourth District projects included in the House Armed Services Committee’s Defense Authorization are as follows:

· Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM) - $76.9 million
· Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile (PAC-3) - $688 million (+ $90 million)
· Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) - $786 million
· Line-of-Sight Antitank (LOSAT) - $43.2 million
· High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) - $124 million
· Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) - $138.4 million (+ $9 million)
· Hydra 70- $32.981 million (+ $11million)

“This study only strengthens what Congressman Berry and I offered last week as an alternate economic stimulus – a nationwide investment in our transportation and infrastructure,” Ross said.  “For every billion dollars spent on transportation improvements, 42,000 new jobs are created.  There’s your economic boost.  According to the plan the House passed last week, 80 percent of Arkansans would get less than a dollar a day.  Arkansans who are struggling right now don’t need a tax cut, they need a job.”

As an amendment to the Jobs and Growth Reconciliation Tax Act, H.R.2, Ross and Berry proposed investing $1 billion in each Congressional District for the sole purpose of building new or improving existing roads and infrastructure in order to create more than 18 million new jobs. 

Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) recently released a statement saying the study highlights the "positive economic benefits our bill will have in all 50 states" and argued that the spending increases called for in the TEA-21 reauthorization are necessary to maintain and upgrade the nation's aging transportation infrastructure. 

According to the study, the TEA-21 reauthorization would generate the following:

· A $290 billion increase in the GDP - about $48 billion each year.  The proposal would generate more than $2.50 in additional economic activity for every federal dollar invested in highway and transit capital outlays. 
· A $102 billion increase in federal tax receipts generated by increased economic activity which would help reduce the federal deficit. 
· A $129 billion increase in consumer disposable income.  While the average household would average a $45 annual increase in federal gas tax payments, the proposal would generate an  additional $150 in annual disposable household income - a net $3 to $1 return on investment. 
· A $98 billion increase in consumer spending which would benefit small American businesses. 

“While this study was performed for a six-year, $351 billion proposal, the kind of economic impact is the same for the one-year, $441 billion Ross-Berry plan,” Ross said.  “Chairman Young’s study makes our case; when you invest in roads, you create a permanent improvement that will benefit the entire community, and will put people back to work.”

The study was commissioned by the Transportation Construction Coalition and the American Public Transportation Association, and was performed by Global Insight.