Bill will now head to the President’s desk for signature

October 22, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Led by Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the U.S. Senate today passed the National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report that will bring the state more than $62 million for projects that will create jobs and support Nevada’s role in keeping our country safe.  Included in the bill are amendments cosponsored by Reid that address contractor negligence to prevent further electrocutions of Service Members, modernize the Nevada Test Site, and enact hate crimes protections.
 
The bill also brings Air America veterans across Nevada and our nation one step closer to the recognition they deserve for their government service. For more than two decades, the Central Intelligence Agency secretly ran Air America, a government corporation, but their employees were never able to receive federal civil service retirement benefits because of the secret nature of the program. Unable to obtain relief in the courts under present law, former Air America employees have requested Congressional help to recognize their service.
                                    
 “These funds will continue to provide Nevada’s troops, military installations, businesses and universities with the resources they need to successfully carry out their mission,” Reid said. “I’m particularly pleased that this bill recognizes the uniqueness of the Nevada Test Site to our national security.”

A breakdown of the projects is as follows:

Project: NV National Guard Renewable Energy Sustainable Projects
Requestor: Army National Guard
Location: NV National Guard Sites in NV
Amount: $2,000,000
Description: This request funds the design and construction of renewable energy projects. Presidential Executive Order 13423 mandates that 50 percent of government’s energy must be supplied by renewable sources by 2015. As a result, Nevada Army National Guard is planning wind, solar, and geothermal projects at six facilities and training sites by December 2010. Wind/solar energy generation systems will also be implemented at National Guard Headquarters in Carson City and the small arms ammunition supply depot. (Reid)

Project: Warrior Physical Training Facility
Requestor: Naval Air Station Fallon, NV
Location: Naval Air Station Fallon, NV
Amount: $11,450,000
Description: This request funds the construction of a combined gymnasium/fitness center facility consisting of 23,713 square feet.  The facility includes an indoor fitness area; aerobics room; locker rooms; multipurpose activity room; combative/martial arts room, and administrative offices.  Maintenance of the current facilities is no longer cost effective as these facilities are extremely old, inadequate for demand and geographically separated from each other resulting in significant manpower inefficiencies. (Reid)

Project: NV Air National Guard Fire Station Replacement
Requestor: Air National Guard
Location: Reno, NV
Amount: $10,800,000
Description: This request funds the construction of a new Fire Station at the base located at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.  The existing fire station, built in 1955, provides only 25% of the total authorized space of 17,575 square feet. Only three of the seven fire fighting vehicles can be housed inside the current station at any given time. (Reid)
 
Project: Unmanned Threat Emitters (UMTE) Modernization
Requestor: 98th Range Wing
Location: Nellis AFB, NV
Amount: $3,000,000
Description: This UMTE effort will upgrade performance capabilities and extend the service life of existing Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) range assets by providing fully reactive, programmable, high-fidelity threat simulators, electronic attack (EA) receivers, automatic video tracking, and mobility to support time critical targeting exercises. (Reid)

Project: In-Field Body Temperature Conditioner
Requestor: University of NV School of Medicine
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Amount: $2,500,000
Description: This funding supports the development of prototype In-Field Body Temperature Conditioner, a portable device used to promote a stable body temperature in an injured or ill patient in a remote location.  Temperature stability can be the difference between life and death for patients in remote or difficult to reach locations (e.g. battlefield conditions). (Reid)

Project: Biometric Signature and Passive Physiological Monitoring
Requestor: Noninvasive Medical Technologies, Inc.
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Amount: $5,000,000
Description: This program would establish a secure database of unique cardiopulmonary waveform signatures and build the feature extraction and matching capabilities for use as a biometric authentication system specifically designed for personnel identification. Military Search & Rescue Operations would benefit from having access to a database to identify individuals prior to air rescue and evacuation. (Reid)

Project: Single Generator Operations Lithium Ion Battery
Requestor: Altair Nanotechnologies Inc
Location: Reno, NV
Amount: $5,000,000
Description: This project aims to develop a large format, high energy density, advanced lithium ion-based battery of 2.5 megawatts, with vastly improved environmentally sustainable characteristics and safety from fire/explosion. The primary benefit would be to improve the efficiency of the electrical plant of Naval ships. Fuel savings are estimated at $1,600,000 per ship per year. (Reid, Lugar)

Project: Next Generation Casting Initiative
Requestor: PCC Structurals, Inc.
Location: Carson City, NV
Amount: $3,250,000
Description: This request funds an effort to revamp the entire waste stream generated by the investment casting process used to supply aerospace gas turbine components.  Research is needed to determine potential use of the portion of the waste—wax, ceramic, metals, and others—that are not currently recycled. We need to find ways of recycling the materials and entities that could use recycled resources. (Reid, Levin, Stabenow)

Project: Metals Affordability Initiative
Requestor: TIMET Global, et.al.
Location: Henderson, NV
Amount: $10,000,000
Description: The mission of MAI is to maintain leadership in the strategic aerospace metals industrial sector by using technology innovation to maintain global competitiveness while improving performance and increasing affordability of weapons systems. This funding will allow initiation of four new, more immediate high-impact programs, as well as sustaining ongoing programs. (Reid)

Project: Biosensor, Communicator and Controller System
Requestor: Eye-Com Corporation
Location: Reno, NV
Amount: $2,000,000
Description:  This funding will produce an enhanced Eye-Com Biosensor Communication & Controller (EC) platform with capability to integrate real time data.  EC will serve as a diagnostic tool to identify and monitor signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and ADD/ADHD, and to evaluate treatment response in these and other disorders. (Reid)

Project: Advanced Suspension System for Heavy Vehicles
Requestor: Advanced Materials and Devices, Inc.
Location: Reno, NV
Amount: $2,700,000
Description: This funding provides for the development of a novel suspension system specifically designed to increase mobility of heavy military vehicles promoting the safety of U.S. personnel travelling in dangerous areas and more rapid combat response. The program will manufacture full-scale CMR fluid struts and field test the hardware with a Future Combat Vehicle (FCV) or existing Bradley Fighting Vehicle. (Reid)

Project: Massively Parallel Optical Interconnects for MicroSatellite Applications
Requestor: OptiComp Corporation
Location: Zephyr Cove, NV
Amount: $2,500,000
Description: These funds complete the expansion contract through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and will be used to support research into repackaging and qualifying the Massively Parallel Optical Interconnects (MPOI) technology for space use. The National Reconnaissance Office has recently requested a proposal to prepare this technology for a launch on its "CubeSat" microsatellite in FY11. (Reid)

Project: Advanced Environmental Control Systems
Requestor: Rocky Research
Location: Boulder City, NV
Amount: $2,000,000
Description: This funding will lead to development of advanced environmental control systems and unique components capable of operating in harsh environments.  It will facilitate cost savings by reducing energy consumption by avoiding the cost of installing larger or additional air conditioning plants. This testing will confirm compatibility and demonstrate the capability to replace antiquated shipboard systems. The design parameters will allow for adaptation to other military needs in the Army and missile defense. (Reid)

Project: Bringing Excess Military Housing to Nevada’s Indian Reservations
Requestor: Operation Walking Shield and Mountain Home Air Force Base (ID)
Location: Nevada’s Indian reservations
Description:  This provision expedites the transfer of military housing to Indian reservations in Nevada.  Currently, there are manufactured housing units at Mountain Home Air Force Base that, with the coordination and assistance of Operation Walking Shield, can be transported and rehabbed at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada. These homes will help address the unmet housing need in Owyhee. (Reid)