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ask.heather@mail.house.gov
In Washington DC 442 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6316 Phone 202-225-4975 Fax |
In Albuquerque 20 First Plaza NW Suite 603 Albuquerque, NM 87102 505-346-6781 Phone 505-346-6723 Fax | |
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Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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Wilson Secures Significant Funding for New Mexico in House Defense Authorization Bill |
August 02, 2001 |
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Legislation strikes balance between quality of life, readiness, and modernization needs
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson successfully secured a number of funding request critical to Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Lab during a marathon committee session that ended near midnight on Wednesday. The House Armed Services Committee, of which Wilson is a member, passed H.R. 2586, the fiscal year 2002 Defense Authorization Bill, out of committee on a bipartisan 58 to 1 vote.
In addition to funding many important programs for New Mexico, this years defense authorization bill includes the largest military pay raise since 1982--after pay table adjustments contained in the bill, every service member will receive a raise of between 5 and 10 percent (effective January 1, 2002), significant construction efforts to improve the facilities in which military personnel live and work, and substantial increases to readiness accounts that support operations, maintenance, and training.
The legislation also includes strong support for the President’s missile defense program and provides marginal increases to the President’s request for procurement accounts, slowing the erosion of our national defense and smoothing the transition into tomorrow’s military.
“This is a good first step toward ensuring that the men and women who serve in the armed forces have the training and equipment necessary to effectively protect our national interests at home and abroad,” said Wilson. “I am particularly pleased that the committee included my requests to fund some critical projects at Kirtland Air Force Base.”
“However, I continue to be seriously concerned about inadequate funding for nuclear weapons activities at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. The chairman of the committee committed to work with me to address these shortfalls as this process moves forward. I will work with him and Senator Domenici to ensure that our national labs have the funding they need to successfully carry out their mission.”
Weapons Activities were authorized at $5.37 billion, slightly above the President’s request. Wilson believes the actual need is $6.1 billion.
The following is a summary of funding included in the legislation that impacts New Mexico:
$4.3 million to Construct a New Small Arms Range and Support Facility at Kirtland Air Force Base
The committee approved Wilson’s $4.3 million authorization, which will allow Kirtland to demolish the existing WWII wood frame facilities and range complex in order to replace it with a new complex capable of meeting the training requirements of the 6,000 personnel that use it annually.
Funding for the 58th Special Operations Wing
$1.5 million for the MC-130 Weapon System Trainer Software Upgrade
The Committee approved Wilson’s request for an authorization of $1.5 million in procurement for the 58th Special Operations Wing (SOW). This much needed software update will ensure that trainees have the most up to date training system for the MC-130P simulator.
$1.3 million for the MC-130H Visual Scene and Sensor Display
The committee approved Wilson’s request to authorize $1.3 million, which will provide a much needed upgrade to the current visual scene and display sensor used on the MC-130H Combat Talon II simulator. This training device utilizes a visual display system that limits the field-of-view for all crew positions, especially the Flight Engineer’s position, which remains virtually blank.
$4.5 million for the Forward-Looking Infrared Sensors (FLIRs)
The committee approved Wilson’s request for a $4.5 million authorization for the 58th SOW Forward-Looking Infrared Sensors (FLIRs) for HH-60 Pave Hawks. FLIR sensors are needed for two important reasons: First, the FLIR is an essential and integral element of the HH-60G weapons system. Secondly, the FLIR significantly adds to the safety of night low level training. FLIR sensors often display detail of terrain on low-level routes and obstacles in the landing zones not readily visible on night vision goggles.
Language Urging Federal Action to Help Acquire Reparations for the Bataan Veterans
Congresswoman Wilson worked with committee members to include language in the legislation that strongly urges the federal government to drop their opposition to the lawsuits being offered by Bataan Veterans seeking reparation from Japanese corporations that benefited from slave labor. The following is the language that Wilson helped authored and was included in the bill:
“The committee is repulsed by the inhumane treatment of U.S. prisoners of war (POWs) at the hands of Japanese corporations that benefited for their efforts as slave laborers during World War II. The committee believes that these POWs are deserving of the opportunity to seek a just settlement from the Japanese corporations in the courts. The committee believes that the success of other claimants in gaining reparations from the Japanese nation for World War II misconduct signals a new era of reconciliation that must now include the U.S. POWs forced to work as slave laborers. The committee believes that the United States government should abandon its formal opposition to the court actions filed by the U.S. POW slave laborers from World War II and apply the resources of the Department of State and the Department of Justice to the task of assisting these deserving former POWs to obtain proper settlements to their claims.”
$400 million for the Airborne Laser (ABL) Program
The Committee authorized $400 million for the Airborne Laser (ABL) program. The Air Force Research Laboratory, located at Kirtland Air Force Base manages the project. Major tests for the program are conducted at White Sands Missile Range.
Nuclear Weapons Programs in the Department of Energy (DOE)
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The committee authorized $6.9 billion ($83.1 million more than the President’s request) for NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency with responsibility for managing the nation’s nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and naval reactor programs.
$5.37 billion for Weapons Activities
Directed Stockpile Work--The committee approved $1.04 billion to fully fund stockpile life extension and evaluation programs.
Campaigns—The committee approved $2.04 billion.
Readiness in Technical Bas and Facilities—The committee approved $1.44
Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation--The committee recommends $773.7 million to address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Production Facilities Operations. The committee believes the budget request places insufficient priority on restoring and modernizing the nation’s nuclear weapons plants and recommends $50.6 million (the President did not request any funds) for infrastructure improvements at the Pantex and Y-12 plants.
Specific projects authorized at Los Alamos and Sandia include:
$11 million for construction of a Strategic Computing Complex at LANL
$5.3 million for construction of a Joint Computational Engineering Lab at Sandia
$2 million for operation and maintenance at Sandia’s Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications (MESA) project.
$5 million for operation and maintenance at Sandia’s Model Validation and System Certification Center
$9.6 million for the Stockpile Management Restructuring Initiative, Nuclear Material Safeguards and Security Upgrades Project at LANL
$35.8 million for the Nonproliferation and International Security Center(NISC) at LANL
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