WASHINGTON, DC - By a vote of 87-7, the Senate passed legislation late last night to authorize over $143 million in defense and military construction funding for Rhode Island that U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), requested as part of the Department of Defense Authorization Bill for fiscal year 2010. The bill authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

"I am pleased to have worked closely with Chairman Levin and Senator McCain to move this budget proposal forward. This defense authorization bill provides our troops with the support, resources, and equipment they need to address our most pressing national security threats," said Reed. "This legislation will help create high-paying manufacturing and technology jobs in Rhode Island and ensure our defense industry remains strong and vibrant. The funding authorized in this package is an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution Rhode Island companies and workers make towards safeguarding our nation."

Rhode Island's defense industry employs about 16,000 people throughout the state and contributes nearly $2 billion annually to the local economy.

Overall, the defense authorization bill provides a 3.4 percent across-the-board pay raise for all uniformed personnel, a half a percent more than President Obama requested. It also adds $1.2 billion for MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles to be deployed to Afghanistan and contains key provisions to improve our ability to reduce and respond to threats of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) both abroad and at home.

At the urging of the Administration and the Pentagon, the Senate this week approved an amendment to the defense authorization bill preventing $1.75 billion from being spent on additional F-22 fighter jets that would have diverted critical resources away from the troops. Senator Reed was opposed to funding the program and voted for this amendment.

Now that the bill has been approved by the full Senate, it must be reconciled with the version passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 389-22. Senator Reed has been appointed to the Conference as a Committee Conferee.

Under the Congressional budget process, once the authorizations are in place, funding for the agencies, programs, or activities is then provided separately in annual appropriation spending bills.

The 2010 Defense Authorization Bill includes the following projects for Rhode Island:

$10.55 Million
Renovation of Senior Enlisted Academy
Naval Station Newport, Newport, RI

This bill contains $10.55 million for the Naval Station Newport to renovate Tomich Hall, which is used by the Senior Enlisted Academy (SEA). These repairs will prevent the continued deterioration of the facility and ensure adequate living conditions for SEA students.

$9 Million
Common Command and Control System Module
General Dynamics Electric Boat, Quonset Point, RI and Groton, CT

This bill contains $9 million for Electric Boat for the Common Command and Control System Module, which will allow for a number of infrastructural improvements, while also reducing total costs by utilizing an integrated Life Cycle Management Plan that can be used across multiple ship classes.

$8 Million
Generation III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System
Kenyon Industries, Kenyon, RI

This bill contains $8 million for Kenyon Industries to continue production and deployment of the Generation III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (GEN III ECWCS), a twelve component clothing system capable of adapting to a broad range of climates and activities.

$8 Million
Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR)
Rhode Island Companies and Universities

This bill contains $8 million for Rhode Island universities under the Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) program for science and engineering research.

$5 Million
Artificial Intelligence-Based Combat System Kernel
Rite Solutions, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $5 million for Rite Solutions to continue the development of automation technology that will optimize personnel manning while also increasing command decision and combat system performance in the Virginia Class and Ohio Class replacement submarines.

$5 Million
DOD Supplement to Impact Aid Funding
Schools in Newport, Portsmouth, Middletown, RI, and across the U.S.

This bill contains $5 million for a national grant program that also funds schools in Newport, Portsmouth, and Middletown to provide additional funding to help offset costs of schooling children with disabilities.

$5 Million
Intelligent Mobile Sensor Barrier
Scientific Systems, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

This bill contains $5 million to develop, test, and demonstrate a system of multiple autonomous surface vehicles to detect, monitor, and support interdiction of self-propelled semi-submersibles, used extensively by drug traffickers. This funding will complete the first two of three project phases -- developing and testing the vessel's detection capabilities, and demonstrating the ability of the vessels to collaborate and communicate with one another.

$4 Million
TB-33 Thinline Towed Array Production
L-3 Chesapeake Sciences Corporation, Ashway, RI

This bill contains an additional $4 million to complete testing and begin implementation of a system that provides the detection range and area search rate required to identify hostile submarines in battle spaces.

$4 Million
Weapon Acquisition and Firing System
MIKEL, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $4 Million for MIKEL to begin the research and development of a data fusion capability that automatically develops an accurate sensor-based target solution.

$4 Million
Submarine Environment for Evaluation and Development
Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $4 million to expand the current futuristic submarine attack center located at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) to a full Submarine Environment for Evaluation and Development (SEED), which will provide a low-cost, easily accessible test bed for new submarine technologies.

$4 Million
Wideband Digital Airborne Electronic Sensing Array
Applied Radar, Quonset Point, North Kingstown, RI

This bill contains $4 million for Applied Radar to provide additional development, integration, and testing of various system components including a wideband antenna, wideband digital receivers, and a real time digital beamformer and processor.

$3.5 Million
Harbor Shield
Battelle, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI

This bill contains $3.5 million for Battelle to conduct work at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center to provide for further development of the Harbor Shield system, which uses powerful imaging technology to map the underwater hulls of ships as they enter harbors, scanning their bellies to detect weapons of mass destruction, mines, bundles of illegal drugs, and any other irregularities.

$3.5 Million
Advanced Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Research
Alion Science and Technology, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $3.5 million for Alion Science to develop and test the Ellipsoidal Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (EUUV), a vehicle with improved navigation, stability and control, station keeping, and energy consumption due to its ellipsoidal shape.

$3.5 Million
Critical Infrastructure Monitoring and Protection
Kelly Aerospace, Warwick, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI

This bill contains $3.5 million for Kelly Aerospace to develop a system that integrates sensing and wireless communications technologies into a single platform to remotely assess in near-real time the structural integrity of bridges, levees, pipelines, buildings, and other sensitive structures.

$3 Million
Marine Personnel Carrier Support System
Group 81, Newport, RI

This bill contains $3 million for the design and development of a system not only focused on technical performance, but also capable of managing weapon-system supportability information, allowing for data sharing during manufacturing, and maintenance support in the field.

$3 Million
Advanced Load Bearing Equipment
American Cord and Webbing, Woonsocket, RI

This bill contains $3 million for American Cord and Webbing to continue production of a system of pouches, packs, and slings for the Marines that are more rugged than the current Individual Load Bearing Equipment System.

$3 Million
Castings for Improved Defense Readiness
American Metalcasting Consortium/Cumberland Foundry, Cumberland RI

This bill contains $3 million to continue the development of rapid, cost-effective solutions in the procurement of high-quality critical castings used in legacy systems, and ensure a U.S. manufacturing supply base for castings in the future.

$3 Million
Encapsulated Ballistic Protection System
Kelly Aerospace, Warwick, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI

This bill contains $3 million to allow NUWC to continue the development of a lightweight advanced composite material solution to a wide variety of armor requirements.

$2.75 Million
Manufacturing Metrology for Weapon System Production and Sustainment (M2WSPS)
Independent Quality Labs, Rockville, RI

This bill contains $2.75 million for Independent Quality Labs to provide for the continued development of a Windows compatible advanced metrology machine tool performance evaluation software package, along with hardware and methods to upgrade the manufacturing methods and skills at FCS manufacturers, Air Force logistic centers, Navy shipyard, and Army depots and arsenals.

$2.5 Million
Hybrid Battery Systems
Modular Energy Devices, Warwick, RI

This bill contains $2.5 million for Modular Energy Devices to accelerate the insertion of high energy batteries into tactical vehicles while mitigating technical risk through a hybrid battery system of advanced Lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries and proven Thin Plate Pure Lead Acid (TPPL) batteries.

$2.2 Million
3D Woven Preform Technology for Army Munitions Applications
Textile Engineering & Manufacturing, Woonsocket, RI

This bill contains $2.2 million for Textile Engineering & Manufacturing to test and evaluate technology capable of providing enhanced ballistic performance that reduce weight and are cost-effective.

$750,000
Quiet and Compact Power Conversion and Actuators for Undersea Devices
Electro Standard Laboratories, Cranston, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI

This bill contains $750,000 to develop a full-scale prototype of a full solid-state power conversion system meeting noise and power requirements while simultaneously maintaining the stability of the power system during dynamic loading conditions.

Zumwalt Class Destroyer Program (DDG-1000)
Raytheon IDS, Portsmouth, RI

This bill contains over $539 million in funding for the continuation of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer Program, the Navy's next generation surface combatant, as provided for in the President's budget request. Additionally, the bill provides full funding at the budget request level for the procurement of the Virginia-class submarine.

Officer Training Command Quarters
Naval Station Newport, Newport, RI

This bill contains $45.8 million funding, as provided for in the President's budget request, for the construction of a new building to house Officer Training Command students and provide administrative space for command and support staff.