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Department of Defense Funding Bill Signed into Law
Renzi supported this bill which will fund defense projects in Flagstaff

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (AZ-1) applauded President Bush for his signature on H.R. 3222, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

Last week, with the support of Congressman Renzi, the House passed this legislation authorizing annual funding for vital defense programs. This legislation was signed into law by President Bush yesterday.

Passed in the House with strong bipartisan support, this bill provides a total of $459.6 billion for U.S. Department of Defense programs for FY 2008.

Congressman Renzi successfully secured federal funding in this bill for important defense projects in rural Arizona. Niles Radio and Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Flagstaff will both receive federal funds through this legislation.

“I am pleased these two important defense projects were funded,” said Congressman Renzi. “The research conducted by TGen and NAU and the improvements made by Niles Radio on training devices will continue to benefit the Department of Defense.”

TGen will receive a total of $2 million for their Dangerous Pathogens DNA Forensic Center, a collaboration of TGen and Northern Arizona University. The center focuses on diagnostic, analytic, forensic and epidemiologic research related to pathogens important to medicine, public health, and biodefense.  The Center researches biothreat organisms and provides intelligence and forensic analysis to the U.S. government.

Niles Radio will receive a portion of $2.4 million to upgrade and modernize four remaining Unmanned Threat Emitters (UMTE) systems located at the Nellis Test and Training Range in Nevada. UMTE systems are training devices used by the Air Force. The systems provide mission rehearsal ranges where pilots can practice their tactics before encountering the real threat in actual combat.

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