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| Wilson Hails Signing Of DOD Bill |
October 26, 1999 |
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| WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Heather Wilson today hailed President Clinton's signing of the $268 billion Department of Defense Appropriations Act.
"This bill has a well deserved 4.8% raise for military personnel and shores up funding to help the military meet their missions around the globe," Wilson said. "It also includes vital funding to keep Kirtland Air Force Base ready and able to meet the challenges for the year 2000 and beyond."
Included in the Act is funding of $27.2 million for the Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), $19.4 million for the Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF), $147.1 million for the Phillips Lab Exploratory Development Program, and $308.6 million for the Airborne Laser Program (ABL), all of which are based at Kirtland Air Force Base.
"I am pleased that we were able to strengthen these important programs," Wilson said. "We need to keep missions strong at Kirtland. These New Mexico based programs are vital for America's 21st-century security. I am pleased President Clinton has signed the bill into law and we can now begin restoring national defense."
AFOTEC is the Air Force's independent test agency responsible for testing new systems acquired and developed for Air Force and multi-service use under operationally realistic conditions. TACCSF provides state-of-the-art simulations of several Air Force and Army sensors and weapon systems. It is the only facility in the Air Force that can test, analyze and refine tactics, techniques and procedures in a fully integrated, real-time environment. The Airborne Laser program will operate above the clouds to destroy hostile theater missiles with a multi-megawatt chemical laser while the missiles are still in the boost phase.
Funding for AFOTEC is $3.4 million more than the President requested. TACCSF was funded at $14 million above the President's request. The ABL received $41.4 million more than last year. The bill also included a provision establishing a Tri-Service Directed Energy Center at Kirtland Air Force Base. With the U.S. Air Force serving as the lead agency, the center will coordinate the development of the systems. It also sets aside $500,000 for Sandia National Labs to work with TACCSF on modeling the nation's critical infrastructure systems.
In July, Wilson secured $14 million in funding for reconstruction of the ramps and runways in the Military Construction Appropriations bill. President Clinton enacted it into law into law on August 17, 1999.
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