Chet Edwards For Congress - The 17th District

Defense contracts net $7.2 million for Central Texas...

Kat — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:48:48 -0700

Defense contracts net $7.2 million for Central Texas projects, studies

Waco Tribune-Herald | October 12, 2008 | By Mike Copeland | Tribune-Herald business editor

L-3 Communications will get $4.8 million to create a lab for testing new ways Navy EP-3E planes can spy on the enemy.

The money is part of $7.2 million approved for Waco projects in the 2008 defense appropriations bill President Bush signed into law.

Funds also will go to continue a study into the causes of post traumatic stress disorder in soldiers and to improve detection systems for airborne chemical and biological contaminants.

L-3, which is Waco’s largest private-sector employer, will create a Technology Integration Lab where new technologies for EP-3E spy planes can be “pre-tested” before being installed on the planes.

“This is a future project,” said Lance Martin, a spokesman for L-3, who added he does not yet know whether the creation of the lab would increase the company’s 1,600-person employment level.

The lab will dramatically reduce the time the planes must be pulled away from intelligence-gathering missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to receive systems upgrades.

The planes often receive their modifications in Waco.

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, secured $1.6 million in the defense budget for a study into the underlying causes of post traumatic stress disorder. This is the continuation of a program that began in 2006 and involves the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Waco, Fort Hood and Texas A&M University.

“The Waco VA and Fort Hood are uniquely positioned to conduct world-class research with the Department of Defense and Texas A&M to find improved treatments and cures for veterans suffering from mental illness and post traumatic stress disorder,” Edwards said.

A Waco-based company called ACT I, short for Advanced Concepts & Technologies International, will receive $800,000 to come up with a plan for improving detection systems for airborne chemical and biological contaminants, which is a need identified by the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.

ACT I has received $2.8 million since 2006 to support studies of how to protect military men and women in combat zones from contaminated water. Those studies could benefit communities at home in the event of natural disasters or terrorist attacks.

Local Post Office Renamed For Local Soldier...

Kat — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:33:10 -0700

KWTX TV: Local Post Office Renamed For Local Soldier Killed In Vietnam

KWTX TV | October 5, 2008

(October 25, 2008)—A dedication ceremony Saturday morning marked the official renaming of the Clay Avenue Post Office in Waco to honor Pfc. Juan Alonso Covarrrubias, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1969.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in January authored by Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco to rename the post office in honor of the decorated paratrooper who was reared in Waco and who was drafted in 1968 when he was 20.

He was killed on Mar. 24, 1969 and was buried on April 4, 1969 at Waco Memorial Park, leaving behind a then-infant daughter, Tammy.

Tammy Covarrubias was expected to attend the ceremony Saturday.

“Juan Alonso Covarrubias is an American hero who gave his life defending our country in Vietnam,” Edwards said.

“We humbly recognize that we can never fully repay him or his family for their loss, but I hope and pray that honoring him in this way will celebrate his dedicated service and preserve his memory,” he said.

Covarrubias was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Bronze Star Medal during his short tenure in the military

Texas to get most of disaster aid in spending bill

Kat — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:29:58 -0700

Texas to get most of disaster aid in spending bill

AP via the Houston Chronicle | Sept. 24, 2008

Lawmakers to ask Congress for billions to recover

WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards says the House will pass a year-end spending bill that will designate most of about $23 billion in disaster recovery aid for Hurricane Ike.

Edwards says the House was to pass the spending bill Wednesday. The money is divided among agencies and programs.

Edwards is the ranking Texan on the House Appropriations Committee.

The sweeping spending bill also increases defense spending and assists automakers. It is intended to keep government running past the October First start of the 2009 budget year.