News
September 10, 2008
harkin announces major defense investments for iowa
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that he has secured funding for Iowa in the Senate Fiscal Year 2009 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations bill. Funding is expected to be approved by the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee today for Rock Island Arsenal, the Midwest Regional Counterdrug Training Center, Rockwell Collins, and a variety of other Iowa businesses, colleges, and communities. The bill must pass the Senate and the House before it is sent to the President’s desk. Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
“Iowans’ hard-working and innovative nature is a key reason our state produces so many cutting-edge initiatives and technologies,” said Harkin. “The members of our country’s military deserve the very best tools and programs to help them do their jobs. I am proud of the Iowa companies that have proven they offer the best in their field.”
Details of the funding are as follows:
MIDWEST COUNTERDRUG TRAINING CENTER AT CAMP DODGE in Johnston: $5 million to support this facility, which serves as a narcotics investigation and enforcement training center for state and local law enforcement agencies from an area encompassing many Midwestern and Northwestern states.
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL: $5 million to replace a deteriorated roof of a major arsenal building, which would otherwise have to be paid out of arsenal funds raising, its operating costs. $8.5 million for the Arsenal Support Program Initiative that improves facilities and brings in tenants to lower the Arsenal’s operating costs. The arsenal’s bids to pick up new business is partially to offset operating costs. These funds enable it to be more competitive in acquiring additional business and jobs.
IOWA UNIVERSITIES
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY in Ames: $2 million for the Virtual Reality Applications Center to develop a training program that integrates Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) training environments. $3 million for the Aircraft Evaluation Readiness Initiative to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the military’s aircraft. $8 million for the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation to evaluate the composite of armor for vehicles, develop lighter weight materials and environmentally friendly power sources for soldiers, among other things.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA in Cedar Falls: $5 million for the SOAR program, which provides a cost-effective way to address some of the unique challenges facing local education agencies that serve students from military families who have a high mobility rate. SOAR will help the Department of Defense provide a better education for these children by providing a smoother transition from one school to another. The program uses Internet technology to help both teachers and parents assist students. The technology has the potential to be used with broader groups of children who go from one school to another. $800,000 for the Center for Education in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology to develop and provide nanotechnology training and education.
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA in Iowa City: $1 million to continue a comprehensive study of occupational health risks related to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant near Burlington.
IOWA COMPANIES
ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC. in Cedar Rapids: $3 million to improve radio communications in the F-15; $2 million for the development of software and hardware to be used in aircraft cockpits to improve their defensive and offensive capability.
POWERFILM in Ames: $2 million for the continual development of technology that will help improve soldier situational awareness and battlefield survivability.
PMX INDUSTRIES in Cedar Rapids: $2 million for continued research on how copper alloys can reduce certain types of infection.
ADVANCED ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES in Ames: $4.3 million for continued development of a Portable Rapid Bacterial Warfare Detection Unit to rapidly identify biological agents within a surrounding area to provide troop safety.
ALCOA in Davenport: $2 million to design, research and modernize marine structures using aluminum.
ATHENA GTX in Des Moines: $2 million to complete development, certify and test the Wireless Medical Monitoring System (WiMed) that provides wireless monitoring of patient’s vital signs on the battlefield.
POLARIS INDUSTRIES in Spirit Lake: $3 million to provide Ultra Light Vehicles for the National Guard.
ETREMA in Ames: $2 million for research, development, testing and evaluation of Galfenol, an active material, which converts low level mechanical vibrations into electrical energy for use in the Navy.
CARLETON LIFE SUPPORT in Davenport: $5 million to retrofit F-15 aircraft with a Molecular Sieve On-Board Oxygen Generating System (MSOGS), which provides a continuous supply of breathing oxygen to pilots.
BIOPROTECTION SYSTEMS CORPORATION in Ames: $2 million to advance research and development in enhancing vaccines already produced for use in the event of a biological or chemical assault.
BIO FORCE NANOSCIENCES in Ames: $2 million to produce a “ViriChip System” to be able to rapidly detect and identify pathogens.
OVER THE HORIZON SERVICES in Des Moines: $1 million to electronically convert military personnel health and dental records in a secure format.
