FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2001
HOUSE PASSES DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL THAT INCLUDES BILLIONS FOR CONNECTICUT
WASHINGTON, D.C.�U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) announced today that the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3338, the Defense Appropriations bill conference report containing billions in funding for national defense programs important to Connecticut.
Larson stated: "The Defense Appropriations bill passed by the House today is excellent news for the State of Connecticut. The bill funds programs which are critical to our national defense as well as the state's defense industry and workforce. I am particularly pleased to see that the F-22 Raptor and Joint Strike Fighter, the next generation of military flight technology, as well as a much needed military pay raise of 4.6 percent were fully funded in the bill. I am also pleased to see that the bill contains $8.5 million for UTC-Fuel Cells in South Windsor for fuel cell related programs. Funding contained in the legislation for these and other defense initiatives is a strong investment in the nation's defense and in our state's economy."
The legislation fully funds the President's request of $1.5 billion for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter research and development; $2.8 billion for procurement of fifteen C-17 transport planes and an additional $143 million for advanced procurement of additional aircraft; $275 million for procurement of one E-8C JSTAR aircraft; $787.8 million for research and development on the Army's Comanche helicopter; and $1.5 billion for procurement of one new Virginia class submarine. The bill also includes an additional $324 million in Navy procurement funding for the acquisition of a nuclear reactor core, and all necessary design, planning, and long-lead component costs to initiate an additional two SSGN conversions (for a program total of four), and $75 million in Navy research and development funding for SSGN conversion.
In addition to these major programs, the Defense Appropriations bill also funded the following important Connecticut programs:
PRATT & WHITNEY, East Hartford, CT
F-16 Air National Guard Block 42 Engine Upgrade ... $31.2 million
F-15 "E-kit" Engine Upgrades ... $30 million
INTERNATIONAL FUEL CELLS, South Windsor, CT
Hydrogen PEM Fuel Cell Heavy Duty Vehicle Demonstration ... $5 million
Climate Change Fuel Cell Program ... $3.5 million
SIKORSKY
Black Hawk ... $501 million, 35 a/c
CHANDLER EVANS, West Hartford, CT
Universal Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) ... $1 million
VDVP and LOLA Equipped Fuel Delivery Unit ... $1 million
Variable Delivery Pump/Variable Engine Nozzle ... $1.5 million
ENSIGN BICKFORD COMPANY, INC., Simsbury, CT
Modernization Demolition Initiators (MDI) ... $1 million
Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System ... $3.5 million
ADVANCED FUEL RESEARCH, East Hartford, CT
FT-IR Gas Analysis Instrument ... $1 million
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Advanced Target Recognition Using Nanotechnologies ... $1 million
Arthropod-borne Infectious Disease Control ... $2.5 million
Fuel Cell Power Systems ... $2.5 million
KAMAN CORPORATION, Bloomfield, CT
Ocean Remote Sensing Program ... $4.3 million
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