[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 85 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2008

  Mr. McCARTHY of California. Madam Speaker, consistent with House 
Republican Earmark Standards, I am submitting the following earmark 
disclosure and certification information for two project authorization 
requests that I made and which were included within the text of H.R. 
5658, the ``Duncan Hunter Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2009.''
  Requesting Member: Congressman Kevin McCarthy.
  Bill Number: H.R. 5658.
  Account: Military Construction, Air Force.
  Project Amount: $6,000,000.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Edwards Air Force Base.
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1 S. Rosamond Blvd., Edwards AFB, CA, 
USA.
  Description of Request: This funding would complete construction of 
the main base runway at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. The funding will be 
used to complete paved shoulders on the runway and account for extra 
costs in the overall runway replacement project from items such as the 
stabilization of over 41,000 cubic yards of both unsuitable and 
unstable soil.
  The main base runway, which supports almost every flight operation at 
Edwards Air Force Base, as well as space shuttle landings when 
necessary, is over 50 years old and is rapidly degrading as a result of 
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), a reaction between the cement and the 
aggregate that creates map cracking, scaling and spalling of the 
concrete. Emergency Foreign Object Damage (FOD) repairs have forced 
runway closures affecting 10 to 15 flights for each closure. No other 
runways at Edwards AFB can safely support the current and projected 
test operations without significant test mission delays, and temporary 
relocation of these missions is not feasible; however, many of the 
current and planned test missions can be supported by a temporary 
runway.
  This project was programmed by the Air Force in 2003 for FY06, and 
was incrementally funded over 3 years (FY06, FY07 and FY08). After the 
project was programmed. the cost of construction materials escalated 
dramatically, eliminating all management reserve and resulting in a 
reduction in the planned scope of the project. Providing the final 
$6,000,000 in FY09 will complete the project as originally scoped, 
avoid contractor demobilization and remobilization, and avoid 
reconstitution of the temporary runway to support this work, saving the 
government over $4,000,000 in cost avoidance on the temporary runway 
alone.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Kevin McCarthy. 
  Bill Number: H.R. 5658.
  Account: Research Development Test and Evaluation, Air Force.
  Project Amount: $3.000,000.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Aerojet-General Corporation.
  Address of Requesting Entity: P.O. Box 13222, Sacramento, CA 95813-
6000, USA
  Description of Request: This funding authorization will be used to 
return the Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstrator program to its 
initial programmed funding level. This critical, next-generation liquid 
rocket engine development effort run by the Air Force Research 
Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base will not only provide the highest 
performing hydrocarbon engines ever developed in the United States, but 
also will provide higher operability, lower costs and greater safety 
with higher reliability than any liquid booster engine ever made in the 
U.S. and perhaps the world. A match is not required for defense 
research projects, but I was informed that during the past eight years, 
Aerojet has invested approximately $30 million in internal research and 
development funding on this technology and intends continued support in 
FY09.

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