House approves federal funding for area projects

The House of Representatives passed the bill yesterday, and it now moves to the Senate for approval.

These projects were included in the appropriations bill at Blunt’s request:

• $5.4 million for Missouri State University and St. John’s Health System to improve mobile eye trauma centers for soldiers who sustain severe eye injuries in the field;

• $6 million for MSU and Crosslink to develop equipment that will deliver medicine directly to wounds, decreasing required drug dosages for amputee and burn victims hurt during combat;

• $7.2 million for MSU and Nantero Inc. to test and enhance nano-electronic technology that will assist in maintaining space-based ballistic defense applications used in the Department of Defense;

• $2.4 million to EaglePicher Technologies to enhance the lifespan and reliability of specialized batteries used by the armed forces in weapon and safety systems;

• $4 million for Gestalt/Accenture to improve communication systems used by troops on the front line by unifying radios and creating a more secure bandwidth for sharing information; and

• $5 million for MSU and Foster Miller Inc. to create high-tech surveillance systems for military installations and robotic equipment to reduce the risk of injury for military advance teams in combat.

“From advancing medical treatment for our wounded soldiers to funding technology that will improve the effectiveness of our intelligence community, these projects highlight the innovative technology and hard work being done right here in Missouri,” Blunt said in a news release.