DeLauro Votes to Support Our Troops, Help American Families

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT -3) today applauded the passage of the Defense Appropriations Bill for 2010 Fiscal Year, which will support our troops and their families by providing them with the weapons, support, and equipment they need, and also includes several emergency provisions to help American families through these turbulent economic times.

The bill makes critical investments in the readiness, health, and well-being of our armed forces. It provides them with first-class equipment, a 3.4 percent pay raise for our military, invests $29 billion in the Defense Health Program and increases funding to support our military families with programs like child care, job training for spouses, and expanded counseling services.

To help Americans hit hardest by this recession, this bill also provides emergency relief by extending unemployment insurance, assisting those enrolled in the COBRA health insurance program, and provides funding for nutrition assistance programs.

Congresswoman DeLauro praised the inclusion of funding for projects in the third Congressional District, and released the following statement:

"This bill is good for our military, good for our country, and good for Connecticut. It provides the financial and technical support our troops deserve, and will also ensure their families are taken care of. It will also direct billions of dollars to Connecticut businesses and manufacturers, securing much-needed jobs in our state. Additionally, the bill will help everyday Americans struggling in this economy by extending unemployment insurance and health insurance benefits, and providing for nutrition assistance."

The following are project descriptions and the amount awarded.

Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford

UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters: $1.3 billion to procure 81 aircraft.

MH-60R/MH-60S Navy Helicopters: Fully funded at $816 million for 24 aircraft and $394 million for 18 aircraft respectively.

Navy CH-53K: $524 million for research and development of the heavy lift helicopter.

VH-71 Presidential Helicopter: $130 million, of which $100 million is for technology capture to recoup investments in research and development. The administration does not support additional funding and would like to terminate the program and develop options for a follow-on program in 2011. Sikorsky had built these helicopters since the Eisenhower-era until the contract to build the new VH-71 in 2005 was awarded to Lockheed Martin and AugustaWestland, a British-Italian manufacturer. The program has since experienced significant cost overruns and schedule delays.

Pratt and Whitney, Middletown

C-17 Globemasters (each has 4 Pratt and Whitney engines): $2.5 billion to procure 10 additional aircraft above the budget request.

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: $6.2 billion to procure 30 F-35 Lightning aircraft including 16 variants for the Marine Corps, 4 for the Navy, and 10 for the Air Force. The bill also includes $465 million, not requested, to continue development and initial procurement of the alternative GE engine for the Joint Strike Fighter.

E-8 JSTARS: $62 million, $46 million above the request, for JSTARS re-engineering research and development and $54 million for continued procurement. Pratt and Whitney re-engines these aircraft.

Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine Program (AATE): $4 million for the Army to develop the next generation utility and attack helicopter engine.

Air National Guard Block-42 F-16 Engine Upgrades: $38 million to continue upgrading engines for the Air National Guard.

Metals Affordability Initiative: $10 million for an Air Force initiative involving Pratt and Whitney to develop aerospace metals.

Additional 3rd District Projects:

ASG Information Technologies, Wallingford, $2.4 million: For radar product support system upgrades aboard naval surface vessels.

Biomedisyn Corporation, Woodbridge, $1.6 million: For the Defense Department to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic capable of protecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems from injury by nerve agents.

Cerus Corporation-Yale University, New Haven, $2.4 million: For the Army to develop a prototype system for red blood cells that can be operationally evaluated in military and civilian blood centers to significantly reduce the risk of infection from blood transfusions.

National Center for Integrated Civilian-Military Domestic Disaster Medical Response-Yale New Haven Health Systems, $3.2 million: To continue to fund Yale New Haven Health System's activities in coordination with USNORTHCOM that support a civilian-military integrated medical response to homeland security disasters.

Precision Combustion, North Haven, $2.4 million: For the Navy to develop a highly efficient, small scale, liquid fuel reformer that will reform Navy logistics fuels.

Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, $2.4 million: For the Army to continue development of field deployable fleet hydrogen fueling for a 65-100 kg/day hydrogen generator for military vehicle refueling.

University of New Haven, New Haven, $800,000: For the Army to continue the Open Source Intelligence for Force Protection and Intelligence Analysis program, a partnership with the University of New Haven, Sam Houston State University, and University of Texas – El Paso (UTEP).

Z-Medica Corporation, Wallingford, $800,000: For the Marine Corps to continue fielding hemostatic combat gauze to instantly treat traumatic wounds incurred in combat.