10.02.06

Cantwell Restores $82 Million to Back Homeland Security R&D at Federal Labs, Including PNNL

Funds will speed development of technologies to make America safer

RICHLAND, WA – Monday, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined top homeland security scientists to announce the restoration of $82 million in critical funding that will back the development of technologies to make America safer. The funding added by Cantwell to the 2007 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill, cleared by Congress Friday night, will support cutting-edge explosive countermeasures research and development at federally-funded labs like PNNL. In August, Cantwell visited PNNL to get a firsthand look at the technologies under development there, including liquid bomb detection and cargo screening technologies. During the visit, Cantwell promised to fight to restore this vital funding slated for deep cuts by both the president and Congress.

“Taking advantage of the innovative technologies under development here in the Northwest is one of the best ways to stay smart and strong in our fight against terrorism,” said Cantwell. “To get tough, secure our homeland, and stop terrorists, we need the best technology and the right investment in critical R&D. We need the dollars to turn research into results, and this added $82 million will give scientists at DHS laboratories, including PNNL, the increased resources they need. I’m proud of the role Washington’s highly-skilled workforce continues to play in keeping our troops equipped and our citizens safe. Everywhere you turn at PNNL, our scientists are creating new technologies that will improve security and boost our economy.”

The $82 million in funding championed by Cantwell and included in the final version of the DHS legislation will provide a total of $87 million to accelerate explosives detection research and development under the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). The president’s budget proposal for 2007, as well as preliminary versions of the DHS appropriations bill passed by House and Senate appropriations committees included deep cuts to S&T, with the original Senate bill containing only $5 million for explosive countermeasures research and development. Cantwell worked with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle to restore the funding in the final version of the legislation, requesting the funding in a letter to Judd Gregg, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and a member of the conference committee on the DHS bill. The president is expected to sign the legislation in the next few days. The $87 million is part of a total $838 million for all research and development under S&T.

At PNNL on Monday, Cantwell met with Dr. Ned Wogman, the lab’s chief scientist for national and homeland security, and other officials and researchers to discuss the importance and the promise of the technologies currently under development at the facility.

The funding Cantwell worked to restore will help address the risk posed by explosives, including liquid explosives—an issue PNNL scientists are currently working to tackle. A homemade explosive device can be created by mixing chemicals easily obtained and concealed, but technologies currently under development in Washington state could enhance our ability to detect them at airport checkpoints and other places. A device pioneered by PNNL can identify a liquid in three to four seconds, including 11 specific chemical warfare agents. The added S&T funds will help support and accelerate this type of R&D. The DHS Appropriations Act also includes a provision providing $2 million for engineering designs for homeland security facilities at PNNL.

Other cutting-edge homeland security technologies under development at PNNL include a system to scan rail cars for radioactive materials at U.S. points of entry, and Holographic Radar Imaging technology that can provide a 360 degree full body scan of an individual. This technology can identify non-metallic weapons and other materials that would otherwise go undetected by a metal detector.

The 2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act also includes a measure sponsored by Cantwell to ban construction of border tunnels, and authorizes pilot programs to patrol the northern border with unmanned aerial vehicles and test a new system for scanning all U.S.-bound cargo containers at three foreign ports.

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