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UPDATE:
Senate Passes Defense Appropriations Bill
Sen.
Salazar Works to Secure Critical Projects for Colorado’s Military Installations
in Senate Defense Appropriations Bill
Bill includes $142M to accelerate weapons destruction at Pueblo
Chemical Depot
WASHINGTON,
DC- Tonight the Senate passed the Department of Defense Appropriations
Act (H.R. 3222) which provides $459.3 billion to fund the Department
of Defense. United States Senator Ken Salazar announced that key Colorado
military installations will receive over $167 million under the bill.
Senator Salazar was successful in securing $142.2 million to accelerate
weapons destruction at the Pueblo Chemical Depot with the goal of meeting
the congressionally ratified treaty deadline of 2012 for chemical demilitarization
activities. This funding will supplement $35.2 million that Senator
Salazar successfully fought to include in the Senate-passed FY 2008
Military Construction-Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations Act on this same
issue.
In addition, Senator Salazar
succeeded in including language in the bill to require the Department
of Defense to complete chemical weapons destruction activities by 2017
if it fails to meet the treaty deadline of 2012.
"Colorado is
proud to house some of our Nation's top military installations and defense
related businesses," said Senator Salazar. "I
will continue to fight for the Colorado provisions in this bill as they
will have long-lasting impact on the military installations in Colorado
and ultimately, the safety and security of our Nation.”
Included below is a
summary of the other projects, grouped by region, Senator Salazar secured
in the Defense Appropriations Act of 2008:
Pikes
Peak Region
- $4 million for
Upgrades to Data Networks at Cheyenne Mountain and USNORTHCOM:
Funding will help upgrade NORTHCOM’s data network at the Cheyenne
Mountain Air Station, to ensure that its facilities remain redundant
with those in the joint command center at Peterson Air Force Base.
In case of a network failure at NORTHCOM’s headquarters at Peterson,
the upgraded data system in Cheyenne Mountain will allow swift recovery
of the network. Funding will also be used on equipment which enables
federal, state, and local governments and agencies to coordinate and
share information in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
- $2 million for
Security Upgrades at Schriever Air Force Base: Funding will
upgrade an aging and increasingly inefficient electronic security
system protecting space platforms at Schriever. This upgrade is needed
because the current system has been in place for eighteen years, despite
the fact that it only has an eight year life cycle. The upgrade will
enhance the system’s effectiveness and its ability to deter and detect
an intruder.
- $500,000 for
the Center for Space and Defense Studies at the United States Air
Force Academy: Funding will be applied to support space and
defense studies at the Air Force Academy. Specifically, funds will
be used to enhance the academy’s curriculum in space studies, foster
intellectual development on contemporary issues of space policy study,
and promote cadet and faculty research, internships, and scholarships.
The programs supported will increase the number of future Air Force
officers with an understanding of the importance of space for the
national and economic security of the nation.
- $4 million for
a Naval Postgraduate School Ph.D. Program in Homeland Defense at the
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs: In partnership
with the Naval Postgraduate School and USNORTHCOM, the University
of Colorado at Colorado Springs is establishing the nation’s first
mission-focused, operationally-responsive, and federally-funded Ph.D.
program in Homeland Defense. These students will be trained to conduct
both basic and applied research on homeland defense and security.
Funding will allow three cohorts of 10-15 students (military personnel)
each to complete the three year program. It will also allow for the
hiring of tenure-track faculty and the construction of “smart classrooms”
to support the program.
- $2 million for
STEM Curriculum Development at the University of Colorado at Colorado
Springs, to Expand the Pipeline of Engineers: The University
of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) is working with the national
Space Education Consortium to develop a replicable curriculum and
program to expand K-12 students’ interest in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The Partnership in
Innovative Preparation for Educators and Students (PIPES) program
is designed, through a system of tracks designed for students, teachers,
administrators, and STEM experts, to expose students to the possibilities
of careers in science, space, and security industries, and the post-secondary
education these careers require.
North
Central Region
- $2 million for
the Department of Defense’s Center for Geosciences/Atmospheric Research
at Colorado State University: Funding will allow for ongoing
research into environmental conditions that affect military, counter-terror,
humanitarian, peacekeeping, and training operations. This research
is important to ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of special
operations in theater. The DOD Center for Geosciences/Atmospheric
Research at Colorado State University provides research on priority
environmental problems and questions of concern to the U.S. Army,
Navy, and Air Force. Currently, researchers are studying ways to forecast
floods in northern Iraq, detect caves in Afghanistan, predict clouds
and icing that impede use of manned and unmanned aircraft, and better
understand environmental conditions in complex urban areas.
Denver
Metro Region
- $2 million for
Respiratory Biodefense Research at National Jewish Medical and Research
Center: Funds will allow for continued research into preventing
and treating respiratory injuries from bioterrorism. National Jewish
is studying the mechanisms of injury to develop effective means of
detection, prevention and therapy. The initiative is studying threats
posed by anthrax, influenza, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and
SARS.
- $2 million for
a Micro Satellite Target System for the Air Force (MicroSat Systems,
Inc., Littleton, CO): The Missile Defense Agency is developing
a network of ground radar systems as part of the Ballistic Missile
Defense System that can search for, acquire, and identify missile
threats. These ground-based radar systems require frequent testing
and calibration to ensure they are performing adequately. The Micro
satellite Target System (MTS) program is developing a low-cost micro
satellite that can be placed in orbit to support radar calibration
and testing. The MTS acts as a simulated re-entry vehicle, flying
in an orbit that emulates threat trajectories. The first MTS is currently
being built and will be ready for integration and testing in May 2008.
Funds will be used to complete the satellite and perform tests required
to launch it in late 2008/early 2009.
- $2 million for
Environmental Sensors for Special Forces (ATA Technologies, Littleton,
CO): The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
has a need for small, lightweight and easily-deployable sensors that
can measure weather conditions and a variety of other environmental
and situational parameters. These sensors are useful to Special Forces
personnel on both the ground and in the air. The SOCOM METOC Program
has developed and is currently using a system that is deployed by
hand, requiring personnel to physically go to the desired location
to set up the sensors. The program plan calls for the development
of an air-droppable version of the system, which allows the sensors
to be deployed by releasing them from a helicopter or plane. The funding
will allow the completion of development of this air-droppable version
of the system so that it will be ready for operation in 2010.
West
Slope
- $5 million for
Modular Ballistic Panels to Better Protect Soldiers from Mortar Attacks
(Polystrand, Inc., Montrose, CO): The University of Maine
has helped develop modular ballistic panels that are ready for pilot
manufacturing and demonstration to the U.S. Army. The panels would
be used in tents in mobile forward operating bases to provide additional
protection against mortar attacks. Funding would allow for initial
purchase, production, and demonstration of the panels to be manufactured
in Montrose. Prototype panels are already in theater with the National
Guard.
Non-Regional Initiatives:
- $50 million to
Curb Encroachment Around Military Bases: The Readiness and
Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) allows the Department of
Defense to work with government and private partners to establish
buffer zones to protect military training and testing areas. The program
has been successful in addressing encroachment issues at Fort Carson.
The Senate-passed bill will
now go a conference committee with the House to reconcile any differences.
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