Contact: Antonia Ferrier (202) 224-5344
Thursday, January 5, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) voted late last night for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Defense Appropriations bill, which provides equipment and weapons for our troops, contains $100 million in defense funding that directly benefits Maine, and funds essential shipbuilding programs. Yesterday, a cloture motion on the bill failed by a vote of 56 to 44 due to the inclusion of a provision authorizing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which was later removed. The Senate passed the Defense Appropriations bill by a vote of 93 to 0.

“The Defense Appropriations Bill provides equipment, weapons, and pay for our troops, and it was crucial that the Senate pass this legislation before adjourning for the year.” said Snowe. “Over $100 million in funding was awarded to Maine in the bill the Senate passed last night, underscoring the role our state plays in keeping our country secure. The $716 million allocated to continue work on the Next Generation DD(X) Destroyer will be essential to preparing our military to face 21st century threats and sustaining America’s industrial shipbuilding base, including the men and women of Bath Iron Works.”

The Defense Appropriations bill provides $8.8 billion for shipbuilding, a substantial increase to the $5.6 billion that the administration requested for four ships — half as many vessels as were ordered with funds appropriated for Fiscal Year 2005. In addition to the $716 million for the DD(X) program, this legislation includes $50 million for Bath Iron Works (BIW) to modernize DDG destroyers in an effort to reduce crew size. The bill also contains $576.4 million for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the Navy’s newest surface combatant. The Navy announced in October that it will release $223,262,430 million to BIW for detail design and production of one LCS.

The Defense Appropriations bill includes funding for cancer research programs Snowe has consistently advocated, including:

· $127.5 million for Breast Cancer research within the Department of Defense.

· $10 million for Ovarian Cancer Research Program with in the Department of Defense - The DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) is making a significant contribution to the advancement of ovarian cancer research and the understanding of this terrible disease. This funding will be used to develop an important breakthrough in developing the first ovarian cancer screening test and further research into ovarian cancer more broadly.

· $10 million for prostate cancer research – This funding will be used to conduct prostate cancer research through the DOD’s Medical Research Program for prostate cancer. The DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) mirrors the highly successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency by awarding grants where unique opportunities present themselves – often falling beyond the reach of broad programs managed by other federal agencies. 127.5 million for Breast Cancer research within the Department of Defense, ovarian 10 million, prostate 80 million

Snowe announced that she secured the following funding in this Appropriations bill to benefit Maine:

· $50 million for the DD(X) Destroyer Program at Bath Iron Works (BIW) for ongoing design and advance procurement requirements associated with the DD(X) destroyer program's second ship to be constructed at BIW.

· $21 million for Pratt and Whitney of North Berwick for new engines for F16s for the Air National Guard.

· $12.5 million for Pratt & Whitney of North Berwick for EC-8 (JointSTARS) Re-Engine Initiative.

· $4.5 million for General Dynamics in Saco for M2HB enhanced .50 caliber machine gun kits for soldiers engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

· $1.5 million to Applied Thermal Sciences (ATS) of Sanford for a small, rapid response Watercraft Propulsion Demonstrator for the Navy.

· $1 million to the University of Maine at Orono to continue development of advanced structures and composites in construction for protective structures.

· $1.5 million for BiODE Corporation of Westbrook to develop an Integrated Oil Debris and Condition Sensor in order to enhance Condition-Based Maintenance for the Army.

· $1.2 million for FMI/Biddeford to begin Integrated Composite Missile Structures, used to initiate THAAD airframe design development.

· $1 million to Technology Systems, Inc. (TSI) in Wiscasset for continued work on a visual integrated bridge system for demonstrations aboard Navy craft.

· $1 million for Vicus in Eastport to demonstrate a low cost avionics program for the Army.

· $2.5 million for Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay to produce the Mark V patrol boat replacement craft.

· $1 million for General Dynamics in Saco to manufacture modification kits to support the Marine Corps' use of the MK19 Grenade Machine Gun.

· $1.25 million for Precision Lightweights Systems in Sanford to implement high performance sandwich panel construction techniques.

· $1 million for Burgess Computers in Bath for the Personal Digital Assistant Maintenance Application Project.

· $300,000 for the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

· $1 million to Defense Holding, Inc. for a brush program to supply brushes to Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

· Multiyear Procurement authority for the Air Force to purchase additional C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. A portion of the work on this aircraft will be conducted at Pratt and Whitney's North Berwick plant.

###