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| President Bush Signs Defense Funding Bill |
January 10, 2002 |
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Contains Wilson Funding Priorities for
New Mexico-based Defense Research Projects
Washington, DC - President Bush today signed a bill that provides much-needed funding for our nation’s military. The bill provides the largest single-year increase to defense spending since the early 1980s. It boosts funding for programs to combat terrorism and defeat weapons of mass destruction, provides a significant military pay raise, substantially increases critical readiness accounts, and revitalizes efforts to research tomorrow’s weapons and equipment even while providing the weapons and equipment the U.S. military needs today. Among the programs in New Mexico that will be funded are TACCSF, AFOTEC, and a cancer research program.
“America’s military has gone too long without the resources it needs,” said Wilson. “This bill will not only improve our defense capabilities, but also the quality of life for the men and women who have dedicated themselves to protecting our freedoms and the quality of life we enjoy as Americans.”
The major New Mexico programs included in the defense spending bill are:
Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF), $8.033 million - TACCSF provides state-of-the-art simulations of several Air Force and Army sensors and weapon systems. TACCSF is the only facility in the Air Force that has the ability to train, test, analyze, and refine tactics, techniques, and procedures in a fully integrated, real-time environment.
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), $33.328 million - The Air Force has given AFOTEC the mission of being the independent test agency responsible for testing, under operationally realistic conditions, new systems acquired and developed for Air Force and multi-service use. With more than 200 programs currently in progress, AFOTEC tests everything from aircraft to equipment. AFOTEC is critical to test and evaluation of Air Force acquisitions and is an essential component of Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.
SEAtreat Cancer Research, $1.7 million - An emerging form of treatment offers the promise to “cure cancer with light” and to substantially improve the quality of life for cancer patients. Science & Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA) invented the technology and continues to conduct research to treat and diagnose skin and cervical cancer.
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