Appropriations Requests

Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (ACD&P) - Airborne Laser (ABL) ($423,927,000). I would ban earmarks as we know them, but as long as these earmarks are available, I'm going to apply for them in an effort to pursue federal funding opportunities for my district. For defense projects in the current earmarking system, the individual projects I sponsor have the support of our military and further our national security. These projects are vetted by the professional staff on the House Armed Services and House Appropriations Committees during the appropriations process. I only request funds for projects authorized by law for federal funding and do not do so for private parties or entities. This project will fund the designing, building, and testing an airborne laser system with unique capabilities to provide boost-phase defense against ballistic missile threats by to acquiring, tracking, and destroying ballistic missile and to support the multi-tiered BMDS concept. This is a valuable use of taxpayer funds because the ABL provides a capability to destroy ballistic missiles in the boost phase of the trajectory, the segment from post launch through propellant burnout. The boost phase typically includes the first 60-300 seconds of flight and concludes at altitudes between 20-450 kilometers. Beneficiary: Missile Defense Agency/AL, 1350 Wyoming Blvd SE, Building 20200, Kirtland AFB, NM, 87117-5536.