WASHINGTON, D.C. — About half of $70 million in projects slated for Mississippi will go to or be in partnership with Mississippi State University, U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-3rd District, said.
The House of Representatives passed the omnibus bill (HR 2764) Wednesday, encompassing 11 of the 12 annual appropriation bills, and providing $473.5 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal year 2008.
It includes $70 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and $11 billion for a border fence, emergency drought relief, and funding for veterans. The Senate already passed the measure and President George W. Bush is expected to sign it.
“We were able to secure funding for critical agriculture, energy, infrastructure, health and research projects across the state,” Pickering said.
The legislation contains more than $300 million in funding for projects in, or partnering with, Mississippi. The 1.6 percent across-the-board budget cut negotiated by House conservatives and the White House to reduce spending will affect some projects.
Pickering continued: “Mississippi State University has proven itself to be a research institution of national scope, and these investments into energy, technology, automotive, economic development and agricultural research will pay dividends for both our state and nation for many decades to come. While I represent MSU in Congress, Senator Cochran deserves praise and recognition for carving out the funding for many of these projects, and I’ve enjoyed working with him to enact Mississippi State’s priorities,” Pickering said.
Two of Pickering’s long-term projects in Congress also received funding in this legislation.
The measure includes $188 million in funding for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, $24.6 million of which is to acquire land at the new site.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 included the Pickering Strategic Petroleum Reserve Amendment that directed the Department of Energy to select one or more new sites, and to commence with the administrative and environmental processes necessary to create additional reserve facilities.
This led to the selection of the Richton salt domes as a future SPR facility location.
The measure also includes $868,875 for Pickering’s National Veterinary Medical Service Act signed into law in 2003.
The act encourages veterinary assistance in underserved areas to guard against foreign and domestic disease outbreaks or agro-terrorist threats by helping graduates repay student loans for their term of service.
What Mississippi State Will Receive Mississippi State University projects and programs funded in the omnibus budget bill include:
• $10,824,000 – Sustainable Energy Research Center*
• $7,332,000 – MSU Research Park**
• $4,840,875 – Wood Utilization Research (Consortium with OR, NC, MN, ME, MI, ID, TN, AK, WV)
• $3,936,000 – Center for Advanced Vehicular Studies Center**
• $1,390,200 – Poultry Science Research Facility*
• $1,390,200 – USAD-ARS Center**
• $980,000 – Virtual Accident and Injury Reconstruction Center**
• $975,000 – Acquisition of Equipment and Curriculum Development at the Wise-Center Broadcast Facility**
• $893,700 – Biomass-based Energy Research (With Oklahoma)**
• $784,000 – John C. Stennis Institute for Capacity Development Initiative**
• $390,000 – Integrated Workforce Performance System*
• $385,284 – Improving Production Efficiency in Aquaculture*
• $295,200 – Affordable, Energy Efficient Self-Help Housing for Mississippi**
• $246,264 – E-Commerce Research
• $243,000 – Tissue Engineering Research Center**
• $195,000 – Training and Development at the Distributed Learning System**
• $97,000 – Appalachian Leadership Honor Program**
*Cochran/Pickering Projects
**Cochran Projects
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