FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2002

HOUSE PASSES DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL CONTAINING BILLIONS FOR CONNECTICUT

House Also Takes Up Military Construction Bill Funding Conn. National Guard Facility

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 5010, the fiscal year 2003 Department of Defense appropriations bill that contains billions for national defense programs that are important to Connecticut. The bill provides a total of $354.7 billion for the Department of Defense.

U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) stated: "I am pleased that the bill passed by the House today includes full funding for many of the national defense programs that are top priorities for Connecticut's defense manufacturing industry and workforce. While the legislation is an important step forward in the process of fully funding all our priorities, there is still work ahead of us to ensure that funding levels set in the authorization bill passed by the House are met."

H.R. 5010 fully funds the F-22 Raptor at $4.53 billion, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) at $3.5 billion, and the C-17 transport aircraft at $3.7 billion. The bill also added additional funds for several programs important to Connecticut, including: $5 million for F-15 E-Kit engine upgrades; $4 million for Universal Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) research; $1.5 million for Liquid or Light-end Air (LOLA) Boost Pump research; $2 million for Advanced FT-IR Gas Analysis research; $4 million for the Climate Change Fuel Cell Program; $3.5 million for research into arthropod-borne infectious disease control; $500,000 for a Multimedia/Advanced Technology Center for Critical Languages; $9 million for AN/SPQ-9B DDG-51 Radar program; $1.5 million for fuel catalyst research and evaluation; $3 million for a fuel catalyst demonstration; and $7 million for submarine payloads and sensor programs.

The House also took up H.R. 5011 today, a military construction appropriations bill that contains $1.12 million in planning and design funding for the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Windsor Locks.

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Congressman Larson sits on the House Armed Services Committee