Patty Murray's Washington View

PATTY MURRAY'S WASHINGTON VIEW

U.S. Senator Patty Murray's Weekly Report to the People of Washington - June 25, 2004

Boosting Defense - And WA Jobs

On Thursday, I joined my Senate colleagues in unanimously passing the FY2005 Defense Appropriations Bill. The bill includes more than $100 million that I secured for Washington state companies as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. These contracts will create good jobs for hundreds of Washington families and will support our nation's military. The bill now goes to a joint House-Senate conference committee before moving to the President for his signature.

This is a win-win for our state's economy and our men and women in uniform. The bill will support state-of-the-art technologies to protect and equip our troops, and it will support at least 450 high-skill, high-wage jobs around Washington.

I'm proud to partner with great companies working to bring the best technologies to our men and women in uniform. Washington state companies are already seeing their technologies save lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with this funding, we can do even more to see that more of our brave men and women return home safely. Some of the earmarks included in the bill are:

Puget Sound Region

• Fuel Cell Hybrid Generating System Using Ramgen Technology Ramgen, Bellevue - $5 million• Point of Maintenance/Combat Ammunition System (POMX/CAS) Initiative Intermec, Everett - $8 million• Serial Number Tracking System (SNTS)

Intermec, Everett - $8 million

Southwest Washington Region

• SEALION Cascading Vehicles

Oregon Iron Works, Vancouver - $13 million

• Locating Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) with Low-Cost Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Insitu, Bingen - $5 million

• Wafer Integrated Semiconductor Laser

nLight, Vancouver - $4 million

Eastern Washington

•Washington State University

Pullman - $3 million

In addition to the earmarks I secured for Washington state, the bill includes funding for increased pay for soldiers, improved intelligence operations, the Air Force Tanker Modernization Program, Impact Aid, Army Stryker vehicles, upgrades of EA-6 Prowlers, medical research to assist military personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, and better equipment for our National Guard troops.

I'm proud to support our nation's troops in every way possible. We've long had the best military in the world, and I'm grateful for the opportunity in the Senate to provide them with the resources to complete their missions safely and successfully.

Get the full details on this bill and jobs in our state: