WASHINGTON, DC - After a 1 a.m. vote to overcome yet another Republican filibuster, the U.S. Senate moved forward with legislation to fund our troops and extend critical unemployment, health, and food support for thousands of Rhode Islanders and millions of struggling Americans.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, said the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill includes funding for critical national security programs and a 3.4% pay increase for the military. The bill also extends unemployment insurance, the COBRA health subsidy, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In addition, it contains nearly $84 million that Senator Reed secured for defense projects, which are important for creating and preserving jobs in Rhode Island.

"Our troops deserve a raise and this legislation provides that, along with the support they need to carry out their missions and protect our nation. It also makes critical investments in unemployment insurance, COBRA, and food aid, which will help people hit hardest by the Bush recession feed their families, stay in their homes, and keep their health insurance. Many people now relying on these programs are the same folks who once donated to food banks and charitable efforts themselves. They need this safety net today -- passing this legislation will ensure these programs are there for them tomorrow and in the future," said Reed.

This legislation extends through February 2010:

• Expanded unemployment insurance benefits to prevent 1,000 Rhode Islanders from exhausting their benefits each week.

• The 65% COBRA health insurance subsidy for individuals who have lost their jobs, which will help 7 million laid-off Americans and their families keep health insurance they purchased through former employers.

The bill also provides:

• Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including $400 million to help states meet increased demand by effectively administering the program and speeding up processing of applications. Nearly 120,000 Rhode Islanders rely on SNAP - most of whom are children who may go hungry without this vital federal food assistance program.

• $83.98 million Reed secured for Rhode Island's defense industry, which employs approximately 16,000 people throughout the state and contributes nearly $2 billion annually to the local economy.

"This legislation will help create and support high-paying manufacturing and technology jobs in Rhode Island, and ensure our defense industry remains strong and vibrant. The funding provided in this legislation is an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution Rhode Island companies and workers make towards safeguarding our nation," stated Reed, who noted that the bill also contains over $3 billion in funding for key submarine and shipbuilding programs, including the DDG-1000 destroyer and the procurement of the twelfth Virginia-class submarine. "Much of the work for these subs, which are vital to our national security and important to the local economy, is performed by Rhode Islanders."

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 395-34 on December 16. After the legislation clears the full U.S. Senate, which is expected to occur tomorrow, it will go to the President's desk to be signed into law.

Senator Reed secured the following Rhode Island projects in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill:

$10 Million
Metal Affordability Initiative
Lincoln, RI

This bill includes $10 million for the Metal Affordability Initiative, which is a consortium of companies with offices in Rhode Island that produce technology for aircraft and propulsion systems. This funding will help this program strengthen the metals industrial base by improving current metals processing and developing new techniques for production, part manufacturing, and weapon systems support. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$9 Million
Procurement Technical Assistance Program
Providence, RI

This bill includes $9 million for the Department of Defense's national Procurement Technical Assistance Program, which will help Rhode Island's small businesses with technical assistance to market their products and services to the federal government. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$4.8 Million
Common Command and Control System Module
General Dynamics Electric Boat, Quonset Point, RI and Groton, CT

This bill contains $4.8 million for Electric Boat for the Common Command and Control System Module, which will allow for a number of infrastructure improvements, while also reducing total costs by utilizing an integrated Life Cycle Management Plan that can be used across multiple ship classes. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Langevin to secure this funding.

$4.78 Million
Special Operations Forces Modular Glove System
Duro Textiles, Fall River, MA

This bill contains $4.78 million to support the procurement of additional Modular Glove Systems for Special Operations Forces. This system consists of five interchangeable gloves that protect against heat and flame threats, as well as temperature discomfort in extreme cold weather. Duro Textiles employs Rhode Islanders. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$4.4 Million
Future Dry Deck Shelter
General Dynamics Electric Boat, Quonset Point, RI and Groton, CT

This bill contains $4.4 million for Electric Boat for the Future Dry Deck Shelter, which will replace aging Dry Deck Shelters with a number of technological improvements, including payload stowage, launch and recovery, and hyperbolic chamber capability if required to recompress divers. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$4 Million
Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative
Providence, RI

This bill contains $4 million that directly supports the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Service (RIMES), Rhode Island's affiliate for the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), as well as the other MEP Centers in the six New England States. These Centers assist New England's small manufacturers in competition for contract awards of machined parts utilizing a newly-developed production system that significantly minimizes the lead times from design to finished product and will provide DOD rapid response capability to surge demand of needed parts. Senator Reed secured this funding.

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

This bill contains $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. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse to secure this funding.

$3.2 Million
Artificial Intelligence-Based Combat System Kernel
Rite Solutions, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $3.2 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. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$3.2 Million
Navy Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) Logistics Modernization Initiative
Zebra Technologies, Warwick RI

This bill includes $3.2 million to modernize the Navy's supply and logistics structure with up-to-date AIT technology to allow the Naval Supply Systems Command to improve its logistics tracking system to meet crucial ordnance, afloat, and ashore needs. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse to secure this funding.

$3.2 Million
Standoff Sensors, Detection of Explosives and Explosive Devices
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

This bill includes $3.2 million for the University of Rhode Island to develop a standoff IED detection tool to meet Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) requirements. Funding will be used to adapt a multispectral imaging technology now used to detect chemical threats to detect IED signatures, develop a fieldable system, establish a testbed for the technology, and enable deployment to the field. Senator Reed worked with Rhode Island's delegation to secure this funding.

$2.4 Million
Flexible Aerogel Materials Supplier Initiative
Aspen Aerogels, East Providence, RI

This bill contains $2.4 million for further production of aerogel, an affordable, flexible, high temperature, lightweight material in high demand by the military market. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$2.4 Million
Marine Personnel Carrier Support System
Group 81, Newport, RI

This bill contains $2.4 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. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$2.4 Million
Organic Submarine Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Target Demonstration
Sea Corp, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $2.4 million to continue the encapsulated UAV program by allowing for a full scale submerged capsule deployment, including a demonstration of this prototype on a tactical submarine. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$2.4 Million
Rugged Electronic Textile Vital Signs Monitoring
Northeast Knitting, Pawtucket, RI

This bill contains $2.4 million for the development of a Warfighter Physiologic Status Monitoring (WPSM) system for clothing worn by military personnel, which would interpret a soldier's vital signs to detect such conditions as heat exhaustion or hemorrhagic shock, signal when a soldier had been injured, and also provide remote triage and casualty information to combat field medics and commanders. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$2.4 Million
Submarine Environment for Evaluation and Development
Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $2.4 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. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$2.4 Million
Weapon Acquisition and Firing System
MIKEL, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $2.4 million for MIKEL to begin the research and development of a data fusion capability that automatically develops an accurate sensor-based target solution. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$2 Million
Unique Item Identification Data Management Systems
A2B Tracking Solutions, Portsmouth, RI

This bill provides $2 million to design and develop an enterprise-wide software application to support all programs in the U.S. Army that the need to meet the UID policy mandate. This system will ensure that every UID created will always be a globally unique number that cannot be duplicated by other Army facilities. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$1.6 Million
3D Woven Preform Technology for Army Munitions Applications
Textile Engineering & Manufacturing, Woonsocket, RI

This bill contains $1.6 million for Textile Engineering & Manufacturing to test and evaluate technology capable of providing enhanced ballistic performance that reduce weight and are cost-effective. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Kennedy to secure this funding.

$1.6 Million
All Composite Lightweight Military Vehicle
TPI Composites, Warren, RI

This bill contains $1.6 million to optimize the development of smaller, lightweight composite HMMWV-like vehicles, and produce additional prototypes that can be road tested and prepared for possible production. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$1.6 Million
Harbor Shield
Battelle, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, RI

This bill contains $1.6 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. Senator Reed worked with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Langevin to secure this funding.

$1.6 Million
Improved Submarine Towed Array Systems
BAE Systems, Middletown, RI

This bill contains $1.6 million for expansion and further development of the new towed array system, which uses a pull assist system that reduces array damage, and allows for other improvements. Senator Reed secured this funding.

$1.6 Million
Wave Energy Harvesting for Buoy Applications
Electro Standard Laboratories, Cranston RI

This bill includes $5 million for the United States Olympic Committee to provide Paralympics program resources in support of rehabilitation within DOD and VA facilities. This funding will develop programs exclusively focused on injured service members, providing these individuals with opportunities to participate in physical activity at the local, regional, and national levels. Senator Reed worked with Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Langevin to secure this funding.

It also contains $1.6 million for developing and demonstrating a new type of buoy technology capable of harnessing electrical power from the motion of the ocean waves, ultimately making buoys more effective. Senator Reed secured this funding.

In addition, the bill contains $4 million for a national grant program that funds schools in Newport, Portsmouth, and Middletown to provide additional funding to help offset costs of schooling children with disabilities.

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