President's Fiscal Year 2007 Helps Protect the Homeland Increases Research at Wright Patterson Air Force Base

President's Fiscal Year 2007 Helps Protect the Homeland Increases Research at Wright Patterson Air Force Base

President Bush recently submitted his budget proposal for fiscal year 2007 to Congress. It is a massive document that represents the $2.7 trillion that the president recommends spending in the fiscal year that starts on October 1, 2006.

The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility for raising and spending revenues. The annual process and the national discussion it entails are now in the beginning stages. One of the clear national priorities that is, once again, reflected in President Bush's budget proposal is national defense and security.

Since 2001, overall Department of Defense (DoD) funding has been increased by 41% (excluding supplemental spending bills). That includes a 7% increase over the fiscal year 2006 enacted budget. Pay increases for servicemen and women, continues this year. Since 2001 basic pay for men and women in uniform has increased by 25%.

Wright Patterson Air Force Base will see increased budgets due to the continued emphasis on the safety of Americans, defense of our homeland, and liberty throughout the world. WPAFB will receive significant budget increases in several specific lines of Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation. The important research conducted at Wright-Patt today, will provide U.S. troops with the advantages on the battlefields of tomorrow.

Specific budget lines the president has asked to increase that will affect Wright-Patt include: Aerospace Sensors, Advanced Aerospace Sensors, and Directed Energy Technology. The requests for additional investments in these areas will ensure the continued preeminence of the United States in air and space.

The additional funding for sensors will enable the air force to better identify, track, target and attack threats to the U.S. military. The Sensor Directorate at WPAFB focuses on four main areas: radar, active and passive electro-optical systems, navigation aids and automatic target recognition. Much of this new technology in sensors developed at WPAFB is being used in our advanced aircraft, such as the F-22A, and in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). With advanced sensors, the Predator UAV has become an essential weapon in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan because of its ability to track and target identified threats.

Additional investments in directed energy includes research in high power microwaves, lasers, adaptive optics, imaging, and effects to assure U.S. supremacy in the air, as well as space. The Dayton region currently has a large concentration of businesses conducting research and utilizing laser technology. The additional funds the president is requesting will assist WPAFB and the Dayton region to further its position as a leader in advanced laser technology.

One of the obstacles U.S. Intelligence has faced in the war on terror has been a lack of qualified language specialists with skills in Arabic, Farsi and other languages used in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and other regions. The president's budget proposal contains expanded language training for special operations and intelligence units, such as at NASIC (National Air and Space Intelligence Center).

The budget process is a national discussion of our priorities as a nation. The most important role the federal government serves is to protect all Americans and our homeland. President Bush's budget continues to build on defense and homeland security programs, including several at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. I look forward to contributing to the budget process, ensuring that programs important to the defense of the homeland and our liberties, developed at Wright-Patt, remain national priorities.

http://www.house.gov/miketurner/news/columns/2.24.06.shtml