National Security and Public Safety

Project: Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR)

Recipient: Rockwell Collins

2855 Heartland Drive

Coralville, IA 52241

Amount Requested: $5,000,000

Description:  Our service members deserve the best possible equipment, tools, and resources. This project will support quality jobs while investing in our national security. The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) is the most sophisticated and capable GPS receiver of its class in the world.  It allows servicemembers to create maps locating their own positions and that of friendly units and known enemies, resulting in improved battlefield awareness and mission success. Currently 60% of deployed DAGRs are located in vehicles. This funding will be used for the procurement of additional DAGRs to fill a critical GPS  and safety need of our deployed servicemembers while protecting taxpayer funding by providing our troops with unprecedented, proven, and low-cost situational awareness. 

Project: E-6B Strategic Communications Upgrade

Recipient: Rockwell Collins

400 Collins Road

Cedar Rapids, IA 52498

Amount Requested: $4,000,000

Description:  This project will support quality jobs while investing in our national security. The Navy is currently upgrading all 16 E-6B aircrafts in the force in order to extend their service life through 2040 and to upgrade their communications capabilities.  The E-6B Mercury’s primary purpose is to relay messages through survivable Very Low Frequency transmissions (VLF-TX) to the nation’s ballistic missile submarine force.  This funding would support research and development of the upgraded VLF-TX.  By making these upgrades now, taxpayers save money in the long run by expanding the service life of the aircrafts. 

Project: Emergency Management Staff Trainer Distributed Learning Courseware

Recipient: MediaTech

300 E. Sheridan Avenue

Suite 104

Centerville, IA 52544

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Description:  This project will create jobs while investing in our natural disaster preparedness. The National Guard, in coordination with US Joint Forces Command, Northern Command, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, established the Emergency Management Staff Trainer (EMST) program to enable State and local governments to train for a variety of domestic emergencies, including flooding and tornados.  Distributed Learning courseware is used by the EMST program to provide low-cost, web-based training for National Guard units and state and municipal emergency managers, resulting in improved emergency response planning for little additional cost.  This funding will be used to expand the Distributed Learning courseware for the EMST program.  This expansion is necessary in order for the EMST program to provide comprehensive, individualized instruction to its users across the country.  The result will be improved effectiveness of emergency responders as key decision-makers in an emergency and the transformation of state and local organizations’ capability to respond to all of the emergencies and domestic contingencies addressed in the National Response Plan. 

Project: Fort Madison Police Department Equipment

Recipient: Fort Madison Police Department

811 Avenue E

PO Box 240

Ft Madison, IA 52627

Amount Requested: $20,500

Description:  Our first responders deserve the best possible tools, equipment, and resources. This funding will directly support the Fort Madison Police Department by providing needed equipment that will enhance both the safety of the officers and the public.  Iowa’s police departments have increasingly been asked to do more with fewer resources, and this funding will allow the Fort Madison Police Department to invest in needed equipment that would otherwise be unavailable to them.  By directly contributing to public safety, this funding will have a direct, cost effective impact on the City of Fort Madison. 

Project: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Energy Infrastructure Project

Recipient: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

17575 State Highway 79

Middletown, IA 52638

Amount Requested: $5,800,000

Description:  Energy independence is critical for reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil while encouraging American know-how and ingenuity. National energy conservation policies have established new energy reduction goals of 2% per year from 2006 through 2015 along with a requirement that 2.5% of electrical consumption come from renewable energy sources.  These goals cannot be met with the existing infrastructure at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP), most of which was constructed in the 1940s. This funding will support a building insulation effort that will install and improve wall insulation and energy-efficient siding for major utilized production buildings.  The result will be reduced energy costs, enhanced competitiveness, compliance with national energy conservation policies, and decreased production line costs to the taxpayer.  Additionally, by reducing energy usage by 15% and coal usage by 11%, this funding will decrease energy consumption by the IAAAP and will create overall cost savings for taxpayers in the long run.

Project: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Maintenance and Utility Upgrades Project

Recipient: Iowa Army Ammunition Plant

17575 State Highway 79

Middletown, IA 52638

Description:  Our service members deserve the best possible equipment, tools, and resources. Much of the infrastructure at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) was built in the 1940s and is now over 60 years old.  Consequently, operations and maintenance costs at the IAAAP are substantial and elements of the Plant’s infrastructure do not meet today’s laws and standards, thereby jeopardizing continuity of operations.  Proactively addressing these basic but critical infrastructure needs will avoid operational interruptions that would affect delivery of munitions to US servicemembers, cause employment disruption for the many IAAAP employees, and would result in significant cost savings to taxpayers.  This funding would address the following urgent infrastructure needs at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP):

• Aging roofs with significant leaks hover over multi-million dollar production equipment.  This funding would allow for replacement of roof surfaces on key production and support facilities throughout the IAAAP, resulting in improved working environments for employees and improved safety for both the employees and the equipment.
• Utilities at the IAAAP are nearly 70 years old and must be upgraded to meet current regulations.  Furthermore, there have been five recent breaks in the water distribution system due to severe weather and production has been disrupted.  Installation of new electrical substation switchgear, installation of a new telephone system, and upgrades to the water distribution system are needed to support basic Plant activities.
• Many of the roads and rail culverts on the grounds of the IAAAP are degrading and in need of replacement.  Funding will be used to improve road surfaces throughout the Plant and to upgrade the railroad system within the Plant grounds. 

Project:  Iowa Army National Guard Fairfield Field Maintenance Shop

Recipient: Iowa Army National Guard

505 W Carpenter Street

Fairfield, Iowa  52556-2208

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Description: Our service members deserve the best possible equipment, tools, and resources. Army Transformation has created a two tier system of maintenance that has increased the amount of maintenance, parts, and tool capacity required at each Fairfield Field Maintenance Shop (FMS) location. Proper maintenance of vehicles and ground equipment is critical to the Army National Guard’s readiness to carry out both domestic and overseas missions and also extends the life of that equipment, creating cost benefits to the taxpayer. It is critical that funding be provided to increase the size of the Fairfield FMS and to make urgently needed repairs to the facility, which was originally constructed in 1950. The construction of proper and adequate training, maintenance, storage, administrative, and emergency response areas is necessary to ensure the readiness of the Iowa Army National Guard to respond to disasters in the state, such as last year’s devastating floods, as well as to assure that the Soldiers are properly trained and equipped to respond when called upon to serve overseas. 

Project: Low Cost GPS Receiver Program (Title III Funding)

Recipient: Rockwell Collins

2855 Heartland Drive

Coralville, IA 52241

Amount Requested: $8,000,000

Description:  This project will support quality jobs while investing in American manufacturing for the long term. Funding for this project will accelerate improvements to the current generation of domestically-produced GPS receivers by supporting development of lower cost and smaller devices with enhanced capabilities that are domestically developed and manufactured by American workers.  By reducing the cost of these devices while also improving their capabilities, this funding will result not only in taxpayer savings but also in additional fielded GPS devices that will improve the safety of our deployed servicemembers.

Project: Navy AIT Logistics Modernization Initiative

Recipient: Intermec Technologies Corporation

550 Second Street SE

Cedar Rapids, IA 52401

Amount Requested: $6,000,000

Description:  Our service members deserve the best possible equipment, tools, and resources. The Navy has an urgent need to modernize its supply and logistics structure with up-to-date automatic identification technology (AIT) and radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. The Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) has undertaken initial planning to deploy automated systems to more efficiently manage ordinance, ship store rooms, warehouses, and medical supplies.  These systems will integrate all Navy supply information into a single Department of Defense system, improving material accountability and visibility throughout the Navy, the military Services, and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). 

The result will be taxpayer savings, greater accountability, better supply chain management, and improved efficiencies. This project’s modern equipment and technology will assist Navy personnel assigned to logistics duties at state facilities to more effectively and efficiently perform their duties.

Project: Next Generation Manufacturing Technologies Initiative

Recipient: The University of Iowa

105 Jessup Hall

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA 52242

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Description:  Investing in technology not only creates jobs but also emboldens our communities to create new industries and technologies. The Next Generation Manufacturing Technology Initiative is focused on Model-Based manufacturing, which provides simulation and visualization of the manufacturing process, product performance, and sustainment of printed circuit boards and enclosures.  The result is a reduction in the number of prototypes that must be manufactured; improved manufacturing consistency; and reduced product production costs.  As life cycle costs of products are a direct result of decisions made during development, model-based manufacturing reduces the cost of the products by improving the efficiency of the development process.  The University of Iowa Center for Computer-Aided Design, in partnership with Rockwell Collins, has produced and demonstrated a three dimensional Electromechanical Modeling and Simulation System that provides proof-of-concept of these visualization and virtual test capabilities.  Funding in support of this project would allow further development of these capabilities in a single, integrated, and validated tool that would be readily transferable to both the US commercial and defense industrial bases.  The result would be enhanced global economic competiveness of US-based manufacturing; more rapid fielding of critical support systems for US servicemembers; and reduced production costs for the taxpayer. 

Project: Ottumwa Police Department Equipment

Recipient: Ottumwa Police Department

330 West Second Street

Ottumwa, Iowa 52501

Amount Requested: $150,000

Description:  Our first responders deserve the best possible tools, equipment, and resources. This funding will be used by the Ottumwa Police Department to reduce crime in the downtown area of Ottumwa, Iowa by implementing a strategic public safety effort.  Recent crime rates in the downtown area have hampered economic development, as well as the City of Ottumwa’s plans to revitalize the downtown area.  By providing the Ottumwa Police Department with critical funding to jumpstart the downtown public safety effort, this funding will contribute directly to the revitalization of the downtown area, the safety of Ottumwa citizens and businesses, and the economic development of the City of Ottumwa. 

Project: Performance Steel Castings for Improved Weapons Systems Reliability

Recipient: The University of Iowa

105 Jessup Hall

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA 52242

Amount Requested: $4,000,000

Description:  Our service members deserve the best possible equipment, tools, and resources. This investment will create and save jobs while encouraging cutting edge research. Steel castings have long been used in structural applications for fighting vehicles because of their extraordinary performance and capability.  Applying new steel casting technology to weapons systems will enhance performance by using proven manufacturing technology to significantly reduce weight and improve the reliability of structural components.  This funding would allow the University of Iowa to develop and deliver new electronic tools for predicting the performance of steel castings; new standards for non-destructive examination of castings; and a methodology for understanding castings’ fatigue life.  The result will be reduced cost to taxpayers over the long term due to improved reliability and the extension of systems’ lifecycles.  Furthermore, the technology developed in this program will provide a competitive edge for US manufacturers in a variety of fields, including defense, agriculture, and construction and will provide a solid manufacturing base to support our nation’s servicemembers.  

Project: Wapello Police Department Equipment

Recipient: Wapello Police Department

335 North Main Street

Wapello, Iowa 52653

Amount Requested: $50,000

Description:  Our first responders deserve the best possible tools, equipment, and resources. This funding will allow the Wapello Police Department to purchase critically needed equipment to improve officer and public safety.  The Wapello Police Department will invest in new technology for its patrol vehicles that will increase information sharing, instant communication, interoperability, and evidence gathering between officers and other agencies.  By improving the ability of officers to easily access information and to communicate with one another, this funding will enhance the preparedness of the Department to respond to emergency situations ranging from emergency calls for service and disasters such as the floods of June 2008.  It is a critical investment of funding that will directly improve public safety.