Congressman Blunt Announces Federal Funding for Area Projects
9.24.2008

Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt today announced area priorities he secured federal funding for in the Defense Department’s Appropriations bill for the 2009 fiscal year. The bill passed the full House today as part of a larger spending package and will now go to the Senate for their passage before becoming law.

"By approving these projects, the House demonstrated their commitment to our Armed Forces and the contribution Southwest Missourians make," Blunt said. "From advancing medical treatment for our wounded soldiers to funding technology that will improve the effectiveness of our intelligence community, these projects highlight the innovative technology and hard work being done right here in Missouri."

The following Southwest Missouri projects requested by Blunt were included in the Defense Appropriations bill:

$5.4 million for Missouri State University and St. Johns Health System to improve mobile eye trauma centers for soldiers who sustain severe eye injuries in the field.

$6 million for Missouri State University and Crosslink to develop equipment that delivers medicine directly to the wound, decreasing the required drug dosage for amputee and burn victims wounded in combat.

$7.2 million for Missouri State University and Nantero, Inc., to test and enhance nano-electronic technology that will assist in maintaining space-based ballistic defense applications used within the Department of Defense.

$2.4 million to EaglePicher Technologies to enhance the lifespan and reliability of specialized batteries used by the Armed Forces in weapon and safety systems.

$4 million for Gestalt/Accenture to improve communication systems used by troops on the front line by unifying radios and creating a more secure bandwidth for information distribution.

$5 million for Missouri State University and Foster Miller, Inc., to create a high-tech surveillance system for military instillations and robotic equipment to reduce the risk of injury for military advance teams in combat areas