Senator Charles E. Schumer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2009

SCHUMER ANNOUNCES SENATE SET TO APPROVE NEARLY $16 MILLION FOR MILITARY PROJECTS IN WESTERN NEW YORK

Funding To Go To Local Companies and Universities for Training, Equipment, Surveillance Systems and Medical Research - Will Boost Jobs, Economy in Region

Schumer Requested Committee to Include Funding In FY2010 Spending Bill

Bill Set to Pass Senate In Next Few Days

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Senate is set to approve $15,872,000 in funding for military projects in Western New York.

Included within this funding is $2 million for the Identification of New Drug Targets in Multi-Drug Resistant Bacterial Infections at Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute in Buffalo. $1,072,000 will be directed towards maintaining the Eliminate Public Safety Hazards program in Lewiston. $800,000 will help finance Air National Guard Joint Threat Emitter Savannah Combat Readiness Training Centers at Northrop Grumman in Amherst. $2 million will be allocated to the Advanced Cancer Genome Institute at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. $800,000 in funding will support the Advanced Military Wound Healing Research and Treatment at Daemen College with SUNY Buffalo Medical School and Roswell Park Cancer Institute. $800,000 will be directed towards Energy and Sensor Informatics Research and Translation at the University of Buffalo. CUBRC will receive $800,000 for the Automated Sample Preparation for Biological Detection in Buffalo. $800,000 will be allocated to the Lithos Robotics Corporation in Amherst for Autonomous Control and Video Sensing for Robots. Veritay Technology, Inc. will receive $800,000 for the Improved Kinetic Energy Cargo Round in East Amherst. Calspan Corporation will be awarded $800,000 for Military Upset Recovery Training. Calspan Flight Research Group will receive $3.6 million for X-49A Envelope Expansion Modifications in Niagara Falls. $1.6 million will be directed to Moog for a Quiet Drive Advanced Rotary Actuator.

"This is terrific news for Western New York because this funding will create and preserve jobs in tough economic times," said Schumer. "Providing our brave men and women with the equipment, services and resources they need from first-rate firms and institutions like those in western New York is essential to the success of our military. I will continue to fight for funds that will help our soldiers perform at the optimum level and that boost the economy in Western New York."

The funding will be directed to the following projects:

Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute will use this funding to address the recent rapid increase of severe opportunistic post-wound infections in soldiers caused by the drug and multi-drug resistant bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii.
The town of Lewiston will use the funding for the removal of asbestos, the demolition of unsafe structures, the installation of protective grates, barriers and signs, disposing of debris, and collecting and analyzing environmental samples to determine the presence of chemical and radiological contaminants.
Northrop Grumman will help finance training for pilots, who currently must train far from their home bases, which is more expensive and requires considerable transit time, reducing the time used for actual training.
Advanced Cancer Genome Institute at Roswell Park Cancer Institute will support a program to use cutting-edge genomics instruments and techniques that identify new cancer-related genes and that develop new anti-cancer drugs, enhancing the ability to identify diseases in very early stages, identify people with increased risk of cancer and develop drugs designed to target cancer- or disease-specific pathways.
Daemen College and SUNY Buffalo Medical School will use the funding to develop new technologies that can be readily adapted into military medical situations.
The University of Buffalo will use this federal financing to purchase equipment for a state-of-the-art research facility to advance development and translation of nanomaterials and nano-devices for energy harvesting and storage, as well as multifunctional sensor systems, into real-world applications.
CUBRC will support the development of automated sample preparation for biological detection to aid in quickly processing and analyzing environmental samples to protect soldiers from unprotected exposure and to ensure proper medical attention can be provided.
The Lithos Robotics Corporation will use the funding to advance the integration of digital radio and autonomous vehicle control systems with proven video motion detection surveillance systems.
Veritay Technology, Inc. will support a project to provide greater lethality through payload and dispersion patterns which increases shipboard defense and survivability.
Calspan Corporation will use this funding for a project that combines expanded situational awareness, knowledge and judgment, with the requisite stick and rudder skill-sets to successfully master the many flying challenges faced over a career of military operational flying.
Calspan Flight Research Group will support a project to modify the X-49A Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller (VTDP) controlled Helicopter Technology Demonstrator to incorporate the Adaptive Digital Automated Pilot Technology (ADAPT) and Supplementary Power Unit (SPU) system to enable full flight envelope expansion.
Moog will use this funding to enable the development of needed naval technology to be used on submarines.

The funding levels have been announced through the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Conference Report and are set to pass the Senate in the next few days.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations funding will help prepare our troops for any emergency that may arise by providing them with first class weapons and equipment, and ensuring that they and their families are well taken care of. The bill makes critical investments in the health, well-being and readiness of our armed forces, addressing issues raised by service members, their families, and Department of Defense officials in testimony before the Congress, and discovered through visits to military bases across the United States and overseas.

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