President Bush signed this bill into law earlier this week and it allows these unused, fully-furnished manufactured homes sitting in a hay meadow in Hope, to be donated or sold to federal, state and local governments as well as non-profit organizations -- groups who can truly gain from these homes.

My office has received approximately 500 calls from constituents, and from groups outside of Arkansas requesting these manufactured homes or seeking information as to how to access them.

My first priority remains that these manufactured homes be used by Hurricane Katrina evacuees as intended, but I also believe that selling or donating the leftover homes to localities and non-profit organizations is a much better option than allowing them to sit unused in a manner that wastes millions of taxpayer dollars.

I’m proud to have fought with Senator Mark Pryor to get this legislation passed because cutting the red tape to put these manufactured homes to use is something that is long overdue. However, due to FEMA’s record over the past 12 months since the landfall of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I am not confident that we will be seeing thousands of manufactured homes traveling up and down Interstate 30 any time soon.

That’s why, when Congress returns in November, I will continue to press my colleagues to pass separate legislation I have introduced to demand that FEMA make the manufactured homes available to any city, county or parish declared a federal disaster area within the last 24 months.

After the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been spent on these manufactured homes, we must get them to the people and families that still need them. Be assured that I will continue to hold the government accountable to see that this happens.

Pryor and Ross have been working together to cut red tape and put the thousands of unused manufactured homes to good use. While the lawmakers would prefer the manufactured homes to go to the Gulf Coast to be used by Hurricane Katrina evacuees as intended, they believe selling or donating the leftover homes to localities and non-profit organizations is a better option than allowing them to sit unused. Currently, non-profits may only receive surplus homes from FEMA to house disaster victims. Under the new law, the homes could be used by a non-profit or municipality for any purpose that serves the public good.  

 “I want to give FEMA every opportunity to become an effective agency, and I hope the agency will use this new opportunity to place thousands of homes where they are needed. Allowing the homes to sit and deteriorate at the airport is an abuse of taxpayer funding and should not be an option,” Pryor said.  

“I am proud that the 9,778 fully furnished manufactured homes sitting in Hope, AR, may finally be put to good use,” Ross said. “These are the kind of common sense solutions the American taxpayers expect and deserve. I am proud to have worked with Senator Pryor in holding the government accountable for wasting taxpayer dollars instead of housing families in need.”

Pryor said the amendment was originally passed in July as part of the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, legislation intended to make FEMA function more effectively. Part of that legislation, including the FEMA provision, was incorporated in the Homeland Security spending bill. Ross introduced similar legislation earlier this month.

--30--

The defense spending bill will provide $447.6 billion for military personnel, operations and maintenance, and equipment procurement. Ross also applauded the passage of an additional $70 billion in emergency spending to pay for repairing and replacing Army and Marine Corps equipment worn out by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Investments like these in our national defense infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities are critical to our national security,” U.S. Representative Mike Ross said. “Arkansas's defense facilities play a key role in keeping our men and women in uniform safe throughout the world, and I'm proud to fight each year to secure funds for the defense contractors and military installations that employ hundreds of hard-working Arkansans in the Fourth Congressional District.”

Ross announced $1.042 billion that benefits the Fourth District projects through the FY 2007 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill:

Pine Bluff

M18 Smoke Grenade – $2 million was secured to replenish training and operational stocks of the M18 Grenade produced at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.  The M18 Grenade is a small hand-held grenade, approximately the size of a soup can, that emits a dense colored smoke and is used by all military services for signaling, marking, or screening operations.  The M18 Smoke Grenade has been in high demand as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

M291 Skin Decontamination Kits (SDK) – $2 million was secured for production of M291 Skin Decontamination Kits (SDK) at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.  M291 SDKs are the only skin decontamination kits fielded by the military and have been used by US Armed Forces since the early 1990’s, having been deployed in Desert Storm and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The portable kit decontaminates skin from known nerve and blister agent threats without harm and is FDA approved. 

Highland Park, East Camden, AR

Standard Missile Rocket Motor Modernization – $4 million was secured for Aerojet to modernize the rocket motors on about half of the missiles that would otherwise expire by 2010 due to age.  As part of its ongoing Standard Missile Service Life Extension Program (SLEP), the Navy qualified a rocket motor regrain process that re-uses the major subcomponents thereby providing a new rocket motor at approximately 50% of the cost and in half the time required for a new motor.

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) Deployment – $50 million was secured for Raytheon to increase the manufacturing rate from two to four SM-3 systems per month.  These systems, when integrated on U.S. Navy cruisers and destroyers, provide the capability to detect, track, intercept, and destroy short to intermediate range ballistic missiles.

Hydra-70 70 mm (2.75 inch) Rockets – $136.670 million was protected for the Hydra-70 rocket system used by Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations helicopters and Navy, Marine and Air Force jet aircraft. The system is an effective area suppression weapon which has seen use most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Hydra-70 family of rockets includes seven different tactical warheads that provide combat overmatch and ensure a near-term war fighting readiness posture for U.S. aviation assets including the Army’s AH-64 Apache, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, and the Marine Corps’ AH-1 Cobra. Camden’s portion of the Hydra Rocket production supports 243 jobs.

Tomahawk – $354.565 million was protected for special tooling and testing equipment to increase production capacity of the Tomahawk missile.  Camden’s portion of the Tomahawk Missile assembly supports approximately 60 jobs.

PAC-3 Missiles – $489.067 million was protected to fund the Defense Department’s priority anti-tactical missile interceptor program, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC).  It is designed to counter all threats armed with weapons of mass destruction.  Camden’s portion of the PAC-3 Missile production supports approximately 460 jobs.

Texarkana, AR

Lone Star Load, Assemble and Pack (LAP) Modernization – $2.9 million was secured for Joint Munitions Command to continue the evaluation and implementation of initiatives in the FY05 LAP Modernization program.  Such funding will assure the completion of the Modernization program and conversion to a flexible, more cost effective production process.

Hot Springs, AR

Vanadium Technology Partnership - $1.35 million was secured for the Vanadium Technology Program, which has made immense progress in finding beneficial commercial solutions for defense applications.  Currently, Vanadium is used in virtually every structural application in the military and continued funding for the program will advance practical applications.  Benefits to the Army include lighter, mobile systems, which improve airlift capability and decrease logistical support.  Stratcor, Inc. in Hot Springs manufactures vanadium products.

–30–