[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 86 (Friday, May 23, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT E. LATTA

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2008

  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I submit the following:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Robert E. Latta (OH-5).
  Bill Number: H.R. 5658.
  Provision: Title XXVI; Section 2601.
  Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Ohio National Guard.
  Address of Requesting Entity: 2825 West Dublin Granville Road; 
Columbus, OH 43235.
  Description of Request: The requested funds will be used to construct 
a two-story, 80- bed barracks facility at the Ohio Army National 
Guard's Camp Perry Training Site.
  The firing ranges at the Ohio Army National Guard's Camp Perry 
Training Site have been operational for over 100 years. They are some 
of the finest known-distance firing ranges in the United States. In the 
past two years, the National Guard Bureau provided $1.5 million dollars 
to update the targeting systems and to rebuild the protective berms 
around the firing ranges. They recently completed construction on a 
``shoot house'' at which our members may train urban warfare skills, 
and the base also features a high-tech shooting simulator.
  There is great capability at Camp Perry, but the housing for National 
Guard members is entirely inadequate. The National Guard Bureau 
recently certified a shortage of nearly 600 bed spaces at Camp Perry, 
and much of the housing stock on Camp Perry is uninhabitable.
  With the January 2007 change in the Department of Defense's policy on 
mobilization of the National Guard, and the corresponding increase in 
responsibility for training and certification, the Ohio National Guard 
will rely even more heavily on Camp Perry for individual weapons 
training and qualification. Providing sufficient bed space of habitable 
quality is critical. This project, which will replace a number of World 
War II-era hutments with a 100+ bed barracks, is an important first 
step.




                          ____________________