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| House Passes NM Defense Projects |
December 19, 2005 |
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| Wilson Requests in Bill Total $15.7 Million
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today welcomed final House passage 308-106 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill and highlighted five New Mexico projects she requested.
The Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (H.R. 2863), which awaits a Senate vote as the final legislative step before being sent to the President, includes $15.7 million in funding for Defense research projects conducted primarily in New Mexico.
“The American military is the best equipped, best trained, and most capable in the world, and we’re proud of New Mexico’s important role in keeping us strong,” Wilson said. “New Mexico is a leader in military research and development, and these projects center on producing technologies that strengthen our national security.”
The Intelligence Appropriations are also contained in a classified annex to this Defense bill. Wilson chairs the Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Wilson requests in the House-passed FY06 DOD Appropriations Bill for research & development projects conducted largely in NM:
$4 million to Albuquerque-based MIOX Corp. and Cascade Designs for continued development and manufacture of Individual Water Purifier Systems, an on-the-move water hydration system designed to help a warfighter in the field purify any water source to drinking water standards and reduce dependence on bottled water.
$2.5 million for the Air Force, for research, development and testing of space technology, Integrated Control for Autonomous Space Systems (ICASS). This technology would improve U.S. capacity to deploy and control large structures in space.
$1.5 million for the Department of Defense to develop the new generation of High Energy Density Capacitors for military applications.
$4.2 million for Qynergy Beta Energy Cells (BEC) for defense and intelligence applications. Fiscal year 2006 funding would complete the development phase and develop prototypes.
$3.5 million for the University of New Mexico’s development of the Long Wavelength Array, a large aperture radio astronomy telescope for researching astrophysics and space physics.
Highlights of the FY06 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill
Gulf Coast Relief
$29 billion for hurricane rebuilding and recovery in the Gulf Coast.
Avian Flu Preparations
$3.8 billion
Troop Support
Funds a 3.1 percent pay raise for the military.
$1.2 billion for body armor.
Funds increased end strength for 2006 (part of 39,000 troops over three years) as authorized by Congress and advocated by Rep. Wilson in the 108th Congress on the Armed Services Committee.
Iraq/Afghanistan
Includes $50 billion for military operations, including $1.2 billion for protective gear and body armor and improved insurance and death gratuities.
New ships and aircraft
Funds four new ships including a Virginia class submarine, the same class as the USS New Mexico now under construction.
Funds several Air Force requests including 25 F/A-22 aircraft, 15 C-17 and eight C-130J aircraft as part of the multi-year procurement program.
Funds Marine and Navy requests for 130 aircraft, including 42 F/A-18s and 11 V-22s.
Energy Production
Allows exploration in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, limited to a 2,000-acre footprint of surface disturbance.
Total funding in the FY06 Defense Appropriations Bill
$403.5 billion, plus a $50 billion bridge fund for operations and military pay in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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