Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Funding Bill That Includes Important Provisions For Maine

                  WASHINGTON, D.C.--With the support of Senator Susan Collins, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2013 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill to appropriate $604.5 billion in funds for the Department of Defense (DoD).  The bill includes an additional $1 billion for a third DDG-51 destroyer in FY13, which is one more than was requested by the Obama Administration.  Bath Iron Works would compete to build the additional ship.  The measure also includes $150 million to help pay for the repairs of the USS MIAMI, which was severely damaged by arson in May while drydocked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. 

           "This fiscally responsible bipartisan effort shows the importance that the Senate has placed on shipbuilding programs and making sure the Navy is prepared to meet its national security commitments around the globe," said Senator Collins, who is a member of both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee.  "I have always stressed the importance of the Navy and of shipbuilding to our national defense, and I am grateful to Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman Cochran for their leadership on this issue.

            "I am also pleased to see an initial commitment of funds to repair the USS MIAMI.  I have met personally with the Chief of Naval Operations and urged the Navy to move forward with repairing this submarine and to undertake the repairs in Kittery at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  PNSY does the best repair work in the Navy, and it means so much to the workforce to be able to fix the ship in Kittery after the tragic events of May."

Senator Collins supported several provisions to provide for better health care for our men and women in uniform.  The bill included $33.2 billion in funding for the Defense Health Program, and included $194 million for peer reviewed breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer research, as well as $50 billion for peer reviewed medical research, including research into blind vision trauma and ALS.  The bill also included language that admonished the Department for its slow progress in establishing an Integrated Electronic Health Record for veterans transitioning from DOD to VA health care.  The bill also includes language supportive of regenerative medicine research, which is an area of interest for several Maine entities.

            The bill also included funding for many other important defense procurement and research projects in Maine.  Senator Collins was successful in securing funding for the following defense programs:

• $4 billion for three DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class destroyers and $669 million to continue the construction of the three DDG-1000 ships, which are built at Bath Iron Works.

• $6.5 billion for Navy ship repairs, which includes the repair of nuclear-powered submarines at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; the bill included $150 million more than the President's budget request for repair of the USS MIAMI, now berthed in Kittery.

• $6.9 billion for 29 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft; components for the F-35 are built at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick and at General Dynamics' facility at Saco Defense.  The bill also included report language urging encouraging the Air Force to fully fund additional spare engines for the F-15 and F-16, of which there are an identified shortfall.  These engines are built by Pratt and Whitney.

• $606 million for research and development for the CH-53K marine helicopter.  Hunting Dearborn in Fryeburg manufactures the rotor shaft for this helicopter.

• $412 million for depot maintenance at National Guard repair sites, including Maine Military Authority in Limestone.  The bill also included report language strongly urging the Army to return to its original test plan for the Modernized Expanded Capacity Vehicle (MECV) program, in reaction to the Army's intent to downscale the program's testing plan.  MMA is a competitor in the MECV program.

• $232 million for research and development of aerospace propulsion systems and $77.7 million for military engineering technology research, $7 million more than the President's budget request.  The University of Maine conducts research on new propulsion and power technologies, as well as research in new military technology in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

• $36.5 million to assist small businesses seeking to do business with the federal government through the Procurement Technical Assistance Program, which has six offices in Maine. 

• $200 million in Rapid Innovation Program funding to increase investment in small businesses and developing technologies that benefit DoD

• $56.7 million for procurement of the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System (CROWS).  Vingtech in Biddeford, Maine Machine Products in South Paris, and Arundel Machine in Arundel produce components for the CROWS. 

• $40 million for M2 .50 caliber machine gun modifications performed at Saco. 

• $28.4 million, $4.5 million more than the President's budget request, to support important Civil Air Patrol operations and maintenance nationwide.  The Civil Air Patrol has nine stations in Maine.

• The bill also requires the Department of Defense to report on locations that would be viable in the U.S. for renewable energy technology, including offshore wind.  The University of Maine has been a national leader in offshore wind technology.   

            "I'm proud of the many contributions Maine businesses, military installations, and employees make to our national defense," said Senator Collins.

            The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.