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2011 National Defense Authorization
"Investing in Northern New York to create jobs and ensure our national security."
Every year, the House Armed Services Committee, of which I am a proud member, reauthorizes funding for our nation’s defense. Keeping America secure and ensuring our fighting men and women have the best equipment and facilities our nation can provide is crucial during this time of conflict, and bringing defense-related jobs to the North Country is a top priority of mine.
Below are the project requests that I have submitted to the Armed Services Committee for consideration. These projects will not only directly lead to new jobs in our district, but will improve national security and invest in keeping America safe for future generations.
Title: 20th Air Support Operations Squadron Complex
Project: This project will construct a facility to support the administrative, operational, training, storage, vehicle and equipment maintenance requirements of an Air Force squadron moved to Fort Drum to assist 10th Mountain Division troops. The primary operations facility, a WWII-era two-story wood dormitory, is inadequately sized and poorly configured to support mission requirements. This project will also construct facilities to store equipment which would otherwise be left outside, leading to increased maintenance costs and general waste of taxpayer-funded assets.
Amount Requested: $20,440,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Add/Alter Chapel
Project: Fort Drum has a severe shortage of religious facilities. This addition will accommodate the ever increasing soldier population on Fort Drum. If this project is not provided, many of the emotional and material needs of soldiers may not be met. This non-denominational, multi-faith facility will ensure preventive mental health initiatives are taken, reducing the need for far more expensive care for soldiers and meeting the Army's promise to care for them before and after deployment.
Amount Requested: $6,900,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Advanced Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Research
Project: Lower cost, more efficient photovoltaic systems are needed to power not only the growing array of electronics for the individual soldier such as communication, GPS, and night vision gear but for larger unit power needs including weapons and logistics systems. Investing in solar power research will help the U.S. reduce our dependence on other dwindling energy supplies, and give our warfighters a far more cost-effective energy source than they have now. This will reduce the taxpayer burden for Defense energy supplies and strengthen our national security for the long-term.
Amount Requested: $4,250,000
Recipient of Funds: Clarkson University
8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13699
Title: Aircraft Fuel Storage Complex
Project: This project will upgrade and expand an aviation fuel storage
facility to receive and issue JP-8 aviation fuel. As the deployment schedules and training requirements increase, so does the fuel demand. Delays cause troop carrying aircraft to miss deployment schedules, which backs up deployments. This situation has become a major bottleneck in WSAAF deployment.
Amount Requested: $14,600,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Aircraft Maintenance Hangar
Project: This project will construct an aircraft maintenance hangar with shops, an aviation unit operations Medivac Readiness Space, and an arms room to support Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters. If not constructed, the battalion will not have a maintenance facility to provide unit maintenance on their CH-47 and UH-60 helicopters assigned to the unit.
Amount Requested: $16,500,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Alert Holding Area
Project: Fort Drum currently has no dedicated area for pre-deployment inspections of equipment to deploy overseas. There is also no dedicated marshalling area where equipment can be stored to ensure it is not tampered with. Without a dedicated area for all of these activities, port call windows could be missed, aircraft could be delayed and equipment will continue to be improperly documented, causing for inefficient deployments and inaccurate unit movement data. This project will greatly reduce inefficiencies in deployments, saving taxpayer funds and increasing the division's ability to meet America's security needs.
Amount Requested: $6,700,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Ammunition Supply Point Improvements
Project: The existing ammunition storage facilites are not large enough to store munitions required to train soldiers at Fort Drum. The current facility also has obsolete electrical systems, resulting in damage to computers and other equipment. Building this facility will result in safer, more efficient distribution of ammunition and support the division's mission of national defense.
Amount Requested: $7,600,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Battalion Complex
Project: A new battalion has been assigned to Fort Drum. This project will construct the administrative, training, and housing buildings needed to support this new unit. This stationing action has significantly increased the installation’s military population and structure, requiring new facilities to support the unit. Without the construction of the battalion complex, the battalion will either need to work out of wasteful temporary buildings or the stationing will need to be delayed.
Amount Requested: $61,000,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Brigade Complex Phase I
Project: A new brigade will be stationed at Fort Drum. This project will construct the housing and administrative buildings needed to support the unit. If this project is not provided, the Army will not be able to support with permanent facilities the stationing of this Brigade to Fort Drum, NY. Soldiers will have to live and work out of temporary and/or relocatable buildings which have limited operational capabilities and limited useful life expectancies.
Amount Requested: $55,000,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Fort Drum Regional Health Organization
Project: The Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization has provided a platform to identify and analyze the existing healthcare delivery options for soldiers and new opportunities for using technology to improve services. This program continues to leverage resources, reduce costs, improve communication and increase access to quality care for family members and service members in the community. Ultimately, the program allows the Defense Department to most efficiently provide services to the military and maintain readiness levels needed to ensure national security.
Amount Requested: $430,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization
120 Washington Street, Suite 302, Watertown, NY 13601
Title: Groundwater and Soil Contamination Treatment Research Project
Project: Many defense-related sites throughout the U.S. pose elevated human health and ecological risk due to contamination from prior industrial and disposal practices. Current practices involve removing contaminated soils and materials; a far more economical method is to treat the contamination on-site without expensive shipment and further damage to the environment. This project will seek ways for the Defense Department to treat environmental contamination in a more efficient manner, saving taxpayer funds and reducing the environmental impact of protecting our national security.
Amount Requested: $850,000
Recipient of Funds: Clarkson University
8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13699
Title: Infantry Squad Battle Course
Project: This project will upgrade an existing range to meet current
standards for an Infantry Squad Battle Course (ISBC). If this project is not provided, the tactics, techniques and procedures used to fight with the Army’s modern combat systems cannot be provided. Force training will be jeopardized, and soldiers will not be trained in the most up-to-date methods for fighting today’s conflicts.
Amount Requested: $8,200,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Munition Advanced Projectile Hybrid System
Project: This transformation technology for the next generation munitions will provide the U.S. Army with a system that could save soldiers’ lives and provide the U.S. Army with a significant tool to dominate the battlefield. Once fully developed, this hybrid projectile will reduce collateral damage by US forces, deploy far less expensive UAVs, and enable our nation to more quickly win its battles. That will in turn save lives and valuable assets paid for by taxpayer funding.
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Recipient of Funds: Clarkson University
8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13699
Title: Railhead Loading Area
Project: The existing railroad infrastructure is 60 years old and even though the entire rail system had some renovation in 1994, the current railroad system has not been upgraded to current standards. The current railhead cannot accommodate two units at the same time, requiring extensive weekend and evening work that is expensive and inefficient. Units may also miss port calls and deployment timelines, resulting in further wasted taxpayer funds and degraded support to national security. This project will allow more efficient deployments, reduced manpower requirements and increased safety for service members.
Amount Requested: $7,500,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Reaper UAV Infrastructure Support
Project: The New York Air National Guard has been assigned a squadron of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). While these will be a great asset to the 10th Mountain Division, facilities for their maintenance and storage will need to be constructed. This project will provide infrastructure improvements to include a new hangar, taxiway and airfield lighting.
Amount Requested: $2,500,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Training Aids Center
Project: This project will construct a standard design Training Aids Center
(TAC). The 10th Mountain Division will increase the quantity and type of live and virtual training devices used. Additional classrooms, storage and maintenance areas are needed to support the increases in training aid devices and to protect the investment in those devices. If this project is not provided, Fort Drum will not be able to fully protect the training aid and device investment.
Amount Requested: $18,500,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: Transient Training Barracks
Project: This project will construct administrative and housing facilities for reserve component units and the 10th Mountain Division’s Rapid Deployment Component. Training units are currently housed and serviced by WWII wooden buildings. These buildings detract from morale, are expensive to maintain and operate, and are remotely located from training areas, causing
excessive travel and loss of valuable training time.
Amount Requested: $55,000,000
Recipient of Funds: Fort Drum
10000 10th Mountain Division Drive, Fort Drum, NY 13602
Title: U.S. Navy Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Program
Project: The development of vaccines is an urgent military and public health priority as current vaccines against influenza have serious limitations in terms of their production, administration and effectiveness. The proposed project will advance the development of new techniques for enhancing vaccine effectiveness to promote Force Readiness and general health of the members of the Armed Services and their dependents. More powerful vaccines are far more cost effective than influenza treatments, particularly for deployed service members. This project will enhance national security and protect taxpayer investments into the health and well being of service members.
Amount Requested: $4,000,000
Recipient of Funds: Trudeau Institute
154 Algonquin Ave, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Title: Extending access to space-A travel on military aircraft to un-remarried surviving spouses of retired members of the armed forces and their dependents
Project: The unremarried surviving spouse of a retired member of the uniformed services shall be provided transportation on Department of Defense aircraft, on a space-available basis, on the same basis as a spouse of a retired member.
Amount Requested: $0
Recipient of Funds: N/A
Title: Extending access to space-A travel on military aircraft to unremarried surviving spouses receiving dependency and indemnity compensation and their dependents
Project: UNREMARRIED SURVIVING SPOUSES.—(1) The unremarried surviving spouse of a deceased member of the uniformed services who is entitled to dependency and indemnity compensation under section 1311 of title 38 shall be provided transportation on Department of Defense aircraft, on a space-available basis, on the same basis as a
spouse of a retired member.
Amount Requested: $0
Recipient of Funds: N/A
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