WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that he secured $4 million in federal dollars for Missouri projects that will provide economic development, fund new technologies, and support local law enforcement in the fiscal year 2010 commerce, justice, and science spending bill which the Senate passed last night.

 

 “These funds will help keep our communities safe, improve education, and make a critical investment in the technology and jobs of the future,” said Bond. “Local and community leaders in Missouri asked me to help send some of their tax dollars back home for local priorities and with today’s Senate passage we are one step closer to making these critical projects a reality.” said Bond. 

 

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond secured $4 million in federal funds in the conference report to the fiscal year 2010 Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill, which passed the full Senate last night. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives must reconcile their versions of the bill before the President signs it into law.

 

            Bond secured funds for the following Missouri projects that:

 

 

·       $500,000 for the Midwest China Hub Commission in St. Louis. The funds will help establish a Chinese Freight Airline Hub which will develop new markets for Midwestern products. The hub will increase exports of Midwestern products to China and create new jobs in Missouri through business development.

 

·       $700,000 for the Forensic Science Research and Education Laboratory at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. The funds will help construct and equip a facility that will support law enforcement by serving as a state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratory for forensic education. The facility will also serve as a research and development center for new methods of forensic analysis, a regional training facility, and a resource for the Midwest Forensic Resource Center Casework Assistance Program.

 

·       $600,000 for the St. Louis Community College Missouri for the BioBench and Training Facility in St. Louis. The funds will help build and equip 10,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space at the new Danforth Center North 8 facility, which will provide specialized career and technical training for students interested in careers in life sciences. The project will provide a highly trained workforce to supply the growing life sciences industry in Missouri and attract new life sciences companies and jobs to the area.

 

·       $500,000 for the Missouri NASA Math, Science and Technology Education Enhancement Program at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. The funds will help enhance K-12 science, mathematics, and technology programs among schools, teachers, and students throughout Missouri.  This program will increase employment opportunities for thousands of students as a result of their enhanced science, math, and technology skills/education in a high-tech society.

·       $1.5 million for the Cape Girardeau County Sherriff’s Office for the Missouri Sherriff’s Methamphetamine Relief Team (MOSMART) in Cape Girardeau County. The funds will help MOSMART fight methamphetamine production and trafficking through financial assistance to Missouri sheriff’s offices and multi-jurisdiction drug task forces.  The program to date has funded over 300 meth investigators, 10,000 meth lab seizures, nearly 30,000 meth arrests and over 1,000 anhydrous ammonia theft arrests.

 

·       $200,000 for the Hope House Guardian Program in Lee’s Summit. The funds will help provide services to victims of domestic violence and their children.  In addition to safe refuge for recent victims of domestic violence, the program provides counseling and educational services to children to help break the cycle of violence arising from abusive environments.

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