Appropriations

Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Requests


Title:  800 MHz Base Infrastructure Radio Expansion

Request:  $ 700,000

Proposed recipient:  Wake County, 337 E. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  The funds will be used for the purchase and installation of software upgrades to expand the interoperability of the current $25 million communications system, to enable the radios to work on additional spectra beyond the 800 MHz band.  This would allow every federal, state and local law enforcement entity in Wake County to communicate with one another. 

Why this funding is needed:  Interoperability communications are necessary to allow agencies from multiple jurisdictions to communicate in an emergency.  These funds will allow law enforcement to complete a conversion of this radio system. 

Request:  $ 1,600,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina National Guard, 4105 Reedy Creek Rd., JFHQ-NC, Raleigh, NC, 27607

Purpose:  This request would support the continued operation of three Family Assistance Centers (FACs) across North Carolina.  FACs provide essential support and services to families of members of the NCNG and of all the other Armed Services who live in rural areas and locations distant from military bases. These services would include counseling, health care information, financial advice, employer support, legal support and guidance, crisis referral, community outreach, veteran affairs and more.

Why this funding is needed:  Funding this program will significantly reduce the impact of military service on the families of our Guardsmen and women and will directly contribute to sustaining a strong North Carolina National Guard (NCNG).

Since 9/11, the NCNG has experienced an unprecedented operational pace that includes mobilizing over 95 percent of the force. Current indications are that this pace will continue for the foreseeable future. These mobilizations have a significant effect on our families and children. One of the most vital lessons learned is that they experience this impact not only during the deployment, but prior to and especially after the service member returns.

Unlike the active component, NCNG families are not geographically centered near installations like Fort Bragg, Seymour Johnson or Camp Lejeune, all of which provide these services to their members. Instead, NCNG families are spread throughout the state and in most cases cannot get to these installations on a routine basis or without some hardship. Establishing FACs across the state allows the NCNG to provide consistent and continuous vital support and services to the families of members of the NCNG and the Armed Services.

Request:  $ 232,000

Proposed recipient:  Town of Benson, Post Office Box 69, Benson, NC, 27504

Purpose: These funds will be used to install an elevator between the Benson Museum of Local History and Mary Duncan Library, allowing the second floor of the museum and the three upper floors of the library to be used by the public. 

Why this funding is needed: This project provides for increased accessibility for both the museum and library, and will increase tourism for downtown Benson.  The museum and library are compatible to provide historic and literary education to the public, creating jobs and attracting businesses to the area by improving local quality of life.  This project is part of a downtown revitalization plan. The library and museum need additional space and the upper floors are the logical place to expand.

Request:  $ 1,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  The funds requested will be used to fund lab simulations, research scientists, and facilities at North Carolina State University in order to understand the effects of lunar and Martian environments on plants and to develop solutions for a sustainable human presence in extreme conditions. As missions in space become longer in duration, sustainable life support systems based on plant-centered biological communities will become inevitable. 

Why this funding is needed:  Funds will support a fundamental understanding of crop science, to enable the development of crop plants and other organisms that can withstand extreme conditions.  Insights gained will have profound implications for Earth agriculture facing challenges of global warming, threats of bioterrorism, and increased human population.

Request:  $ 6,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, 100 Sylvan Dr., Suite 210,   Saint Simons Island, GA, 31522

Purpose:  The funds for this project will be used to fund the consortium research staff and allow for the continued coordinated operation of the 31 member universities working with Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (CBPR).   CPBR funded research is developing enzymatic processes to allow for the value-added use of under-utilized biomass resources such as agricultural, forestry and municipal waste.  The Consortium recently funded the research of the development of bacterial conversion of wood and crop residues into ethanol. 

Why this funding is needed:  These funds will help develop technologies that can lessen the nation's dependence on fossil fuels and thus, foreign energy supplies.  This project will create good, high-paying jobs in North Carolina university research and technology transfer for phytoremediation and environmentally friendly industries.  The new technologies will drive economic growth in fields that range from "green" chemicals and industrial manufacturing processes to environmental remediation.

Request:  $ 500,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  This funding will be used to further develop the highly acclaimed plant pathology departments within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.  The funds will go towards researching the sequences of pathogen genomes that provide key scientific information needed to detect and trace exotic pathogens.

Why this funding is needed:  Agricultural bioterrorism is a serious threat. Developing the capability to trace agents to the source will be invaluable in punishing terrorists, preventing further episodes, and ensuring confidence in the safety of our food supply. Crop pathogen genomic research is critical to improving the forensic ability to determine the origin of outbreaks that have the potential to cripple large sectors of the agriculture industry, threatening thousands of jobs.  Any uncontrolled crop pathogen outbreak would be economically devastating to the state’s agricultural economy.

Request:  $ 445,445.00

Requested by:  Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, 1001 Blair Dr, Raleigh, NC 27603
 
Purpose:  Funds will be used to construct a facility for students suffering from severe and persistent mental illness, substance abuse, and developmental disabilities to learn and develop culinary, interpersonal, and life skills.  Funding will support building construction and renovation and restaurant supplies for Café on the Hill to provide a permanent space for the Culinary Job Training Program, an eleven-week culinary course. Once students are fully trained in Interfaith’s job training program they will then receive on-the-job experience at Café on the Hill.  This café would build on the Interfaith Food Shuttle’s already successful model. 

Why this funding is needed:  Funding will help disadvantaged students learn valuable job skills that will help them find work after graduation.  It will also provide needed food service to the local community.

Request:  $ 35,000,000

Proposed recipient:  The Center for Civic Education, 5145 Douglas Fir Rd., Calabasas, CA, 91302
 
Purpose:  Through the We the People programs every congressional district receives free sets of specialized textbooks for their schools at the upper elementary, middle and high school levels. Teachers benefit from professional development seminars and institutes to improve their content knowledge and teaching methods. A network of dedicated volunteers administers each program locally, adapting the program to their local needs and leveraging the federal funding with additional amounts at the state and local level in support of the program.

The School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program (SVPDP) provides valuable staff training to improve civic responsibility and promote positive attitudes. The Native American Initiative, administered as a part of the SVPDP, provides civic education programs and assistance to Native American schools. The High Needs Initiative is reaching out to students in schools that serve high percentages of socio-economically disadvantaged students and those experiencing attendance or truancy problems.

The Civitas International program provides for a series of exchanges among leaders in civic education in the United States and emerging and established democracies worldwide.  A number of research studies have testified to the positive impact of all of these programs on student civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Additional information on all of the programs and the research evidence is available at www.civiced.org

Why this funding is needed:  The Education for Democracy Act programs are among the most cost effective programs supported by the federal government. They effectively promote among students a profound understanding of and commitment to the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional democracy as expressed in such seminal documents as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the Gettysburg Address. They also promote students' capacities to participate competently and responsibility in the political life of their communities and the nation.

Title:  Enhancing Quality Utilization by Integrating Primary Care (EQUIP)

Request:  $ 750,000

Proposed recipient:  Wake Health Services, Inc., 2620 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, NC, 27610
 
Purpose:  Funding will be used to purchase and develop technology, both hardware and software, that will allow doctors to use electronic health records to improve quality care.  The EQUIP project will allow doctors to use real-time data that can impact patient care at the most critical time -- during the doctor visit. Just as important, electronic health records give doctors more time to spend with patients rather than shuffling through piles of paperwork. On average, electronic health records are 40 percent more complete and 20 percent faster to retrieve than paper records.

Why this funding is needed:  This funding will help save lives and improve the health of vulnerable populations in Wake and Franklin counties.  More than 25,000 largely low income patients will benefit from this project.  Electronic health records have been demonstrated to improve patient safety, quality of care, and efficiency.  Congress, President Obama, HHS, and other agencies are encouraging the adoption of electronic health records to expand these benefits to patients in communities throughout the United States.  The EQUIP project can be a model for the implementation of health information technology in other regions.

Title:  Fayetteville Military Business Park

Request:  $ 1,000,000

Proposed recipient:  City of Fayetteville, 433 Hay St., Fayetteville, NC, 28301

Purpose:  This funding will be used to make road improvements to the area immediately surrounding the Fayetteville Military Business Park.  The mission of the park is to rapidly increase the number of existing North Carolina companies engaged in defense and military business, and to expand and retain a military-related workforce in the area.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will leverage the existence of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base to provide for the growth of the military contracting industry in the area.  The Fayetteville Military Business Park will create 1,535 to 2,140 direct jobs and support another 600 to 850 jobs indirectly.  With the closure of Ft. McPherson, G.A., and the relocation of the US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and the US Army Reserve Command (USARC) to Ft. Bragg there is an urgent need to support the new businesses in the area.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient: City of Fayetteville, 433 Hay St., Fayetteville, NC,28301

Purpose:  Funding will support the purchase of eight (8) hybrid 35’ buses in order to introduce into its public transportation fleet the latest environmentally-friendly, energy efficient prototype vehicles and make a significant contribution to the air quality in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will enable the City to retain its quality attainment status under the Clean Air Act, critical to both federal funding and to the health and well-being of its citizens.  It will improve transit capacity and clean air issues without adding significantly to operating costs.  If it does not meet these requirements, the city could lose significant federal funding in a time of economic crisis.

Request:  $ 500,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  Funding for the Forest Biotech initiative will support research scientists and facilitaties to improve forest productivity for timber products, including solid wood, fiber and new biomass applications.  The center will also develop genetic technology to increase forest growth and change wood properties including pest resistance.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will educate the workers needed in this field and create capacity for the future job growth that is expected in the green energy sector.  This work will improve the economic viability of forest land and improve opportunities in wood-based bioenergy.  This would benefit tens of thousands of North Carolina landowners in rural communities creating jobs and spurring economic activity.

Amount:  $ 88,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Master Planning Division, Fort Bragg, Fort Bragg, NC 28310

Purpose:  This project will construct a standard design Warrior in Transition (WT) complex to support the healing process of five companies and a battalion headquarters of WT soldiers. Primary facilities include a Warrior in Transition Barracks, Warrior in Transition Unit Administrative and Operations Facility, a parking garage, a dining facility, a satellite drive-thru pharmacy with an intrusion detection system (IDS), and a Soldier and Family Assistance Center (SFAC). Sustainable design and development (SDD) and Energy Policy Act of 2005 features will be included. Supporting facilities include special foundations, site work, all necessary utilities, lighting, information systems, parking, sidewalks, roads, curbs and gutters, storm drainage and storm water retention measures, site accessories, and other site improvements. Force protection measures include all current criteria minimums, building access control, surveillance and mass notification systems, site restricting features and landscaping and area lighting. Access for individuals with disabilities will be provided.
 
Why this funding is needed:  This project is required to provide adequate permanent facilities to support the healing process of five companies and a battalion headquarters of Warriors in Transition (WT) soldiers.   There are no facilities on or off the installation that can adequately provide the required services for the soldiers or their families.   If this project is not provided, Warriors in Transition, their Cadre Support Units, and their family members will not have the facilities they need to maximize the soldiers' healing process and minimize the time required for them to transition back to active status.

Request:  $ 1,000,000

Proposed recipient:  City of Raleigh, 1602 Mail Center Dr, Raleigh, NC, 27699

Purpose:  The funds will be used to complete the construction of the Green Square Building Center and Museum, a national-caliber “green” building project that will enable DENR and the museum to generate awareness of sustainability to large, public audiences and meet the mandates put forward by Congress requiring that state government buildings be more energy efficient. 

Why this funding is needed:  This project will create 4,000 new construction jobs and improve the environmental construction awareness for future generations.  These funds will help the Green Savers Building Center continue to administer regulatory programs designed to protect air quality, water quality, and the public's health for all of North Carolina. 

Request:  $ 1,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Harnett County Central Campus Hospital, 800 Tilghman Dr., Dunn, NC, 28335
 
Purpose:  The funding requested will help construct a new hospital in Harnett County.  Harnett County Central Campus Hospital is a 128-acre site that will house the new hospital, a science and technology campus, education-related organizations that will focus on pharmaceutical development and allied health training, and retail shops.  The acute care hospital will be located on 20 acres of county-donated land and house the following features:
 50 private acute care beds, and eight that can provide specialized care as needed,
 three operating rooms,
 12-bay 24-hour emergency department,
 full spectrum of support services and a comprehensive clinical lab,
 physical, speech and occupational therapy, and cardiopulmonary and critical care.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will improve health outcomes and access to care for the citizens of Harnett County.  Harnett County and the region's residents will benefit from the new hospital through the availability of 24-hour medical care, the coordination of local health resources, new jobs, and hospital-based training activities for local health professionals. The new hospital will create up to 300 new jobs at the Brightwater Biotech Campus in Lillington, NC.  With a hospital closure in 2005 leaving just one hospital in Harnett County, many families face more than 30 minutes travel time to the closest emergency services.  In addition, the county is growing rapidly due to the Ft. Bragg expansion to the south and Wake County growth to the north.  Expansion at nearby Fort Bragg will bring 40,000 military and civilian personnel into Harnett County and put additional strain on existing facilities.  The 50-bed Harnett Health Central Campus Hospital will serve 170,000 people from five counties, increasing local access to medical care for these rural communities.

Title:  Harnett County Intermodal Transport Project

Request:  $ 1,802,930

Proposed recipient:  County of Harnett, 108 East Front St., Lillington, NC, 27546

Purpose:  This project will merge a truck depot and an existing rail line into an inland port.  This inland port will enhance commerce throughout the region. This inland port is located between the Research Triangle Park and Fayetteville, North Carolina, the home of Fort Bragg.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will increase the efficiency of transporting goods throughout the area, making Harnett County a more attractive place to do business. By merging multiple modes of transportation in an interconnected manner, it will also reduce energy consumption and air pollution.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  The funds for this project will be used for research staff and materials for the Biomass Refining Institute at NCSU.  The CIBR is establishing state-of-the-art capabilities to develop, test and optimize the refining of biomass into biofuels, power and bioproducts so that commercial interests can readily observe and learn about near and mid-term deployment options.

Why this funding is needed:  These funds will develop the next generation of renewable and green energy through the continued research and construction of biorefineries, creating immediate jobs for the projects, as well as future green jobs that will result.  These biorefineries will process biomass feedstocks, readily available in North Carolina and throughout the region, into an economically sustainable and environmentally friendly source of biofuels, power, and bioproducts, providing the state of North Carolina with new and renewable sources of renewable energy. 

Request:  $ 300,000

Proposed recipient:  Johnston Community College, 1240 E. Market St., Smithfield, NC, 27577

Purpose:  Funds for this project will be used to complete construction on the Johnston County Arboretum & Workforce Center and to develop a curriculum for students at this center.  The Center helps students prepare for in-demand jobs in the green industry and provides a living museum for science, horticulture, conservation and environmental education.

Why this funding is needed:  This jobs project will create improved economic activity through the construction of the facility, and in the future through increased demand in green-industry jobs.  The Johnston County unemployment rate is higher than the national average, and this centrally located facility will provide significant impact to the region.  The Johnston Community College Arboretum is situated on the I-95/I-40 corridor making it a viable center for education, workforce development, and tourism as an attractive destination for the thousands of tourists to Johnston County.

Request:  $ 220,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7214, Admin Services III, Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  Funding will support additional fellowships for public school teachers in the Kenan Fellows program.  The Kenan Fellows program provides teachers with the highest form of professional development: the opportunity to create curriculum and develop as teacher leaders. Fellows work in partnership with distinguished scientists, and national leaders in public education, developing K-12 curriculum and teaching resources that bring cutting-edge research into the hands of students.  The program brings outstanding teachers in for intensive mentoring. 

Why this funding is needed:  This funding will increase the ability of teachers to maximize their talents and teach our next generation of young people to the best of their ability.  The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century (2000) found the effectiveness of mathematics and science education in the United States to be “unacceptable” and concluded that, with regard to improvement, “the most powerful instrument for change, and therefore the place to begin, is with teaching itself.” These and other findings document a clear need to enhance the professional development of teachers, particularly in the sciences and to promote teachers as leaders for education change.  Kenan Fellows become change agents in improving teaching working conditions and enhancing professional morale and advancing student improvement. 

Request:  $ 750,000

Proposed recipient:  Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC, 283110

Purpose:  The funds will be used to support classroom instruction, a forensic science lab, and a simulation center.  Methodist University will also use the funds to train law enforcement, EMS and first responders, child protective services and social workers, school personnel, and judicial personnel to combat methamphetamine use through  in education, prevention, and interdiction. 

Why this funding is needed:  The funds will help our local and national communities fight the scourge of methamphetamine use.  Methamphetamine production must be combated to ensure the safety of our children and protect first responders.  As a result of this effort, local agency resources will be expanded and the entire community will benefit from this effort.  Fewer taxpayer dollars will be spent on interdiction and prosecution through preventative efforts.

Request:  $ 35,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Fort Bragg, 2175 Reilly Rd., Stop A, Ft. Bragg, NC, 28310
 
Purpose:  The Murchison Road Phase 2 project includes finance design, right-of-way, and construction of new off-installation entrances to Army activities that are urgently needed to improve existing highways serving Army activities.  The project widens approximately four miles of Murchison Road from four lanes to six lanes (to include interchanges at Randolph St. and Honeycutt Road) to accommodate traffic redirected due to the closure of Bragg Boulevard that is needed for Antiterrorism and Force Protection.  The project also includes road improvements to provide a new entrance to an existing elementary school.

Why this funding is needed:  To promote the safety and security of Fort Bragg, the Army intends to close Bragg Boulevard to civilian traffic.  However, this is not possible until alternate routes for both civilian and military traffic are developed.  The Murchison Road Phase 2 project will enable the closure of Bragg Boulevard to non-DOD traffic for Antiterrorism and Force Protection.  Failure to provide funding will hinder Fort Bragg's ability to adequately secure the installation and reduce military quality-of-life for the families of soldiers at Fort Bragg.

Request:  $ 5,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Shaw University, 118 East South St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  This funding will support a nanotechnology project to develop third generation high-efficiency solar cells. Such solar cells are intended to power autonomous systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles.   These new, efficient, and renewable sources of energy are critical to enhance army special operations and enable long-distance missions. In addition to supporting military operations, this project will help develop new solar energy technology to address the energy crisis.  There will also be an education component to enable the development of the next generation of researchers and create new jobs in alternative energy, spurring North Carolina’s solar industry.

Why this funding is needed:  The Army is increasingly using unmanned vehicles to perform critical missions in dangerous areas.  To enable long-distance missions for these vehicles, efficient energy systems need to be developed.  The proposed project will develop solar cells to be used for aerial vehicles deployed by the military.  The research and technology development may also have the ancillary benefits of allowing the military to reduce energy costs and impact.

Request:  $ 2,200,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  Funds will be used to coordinate curriculum and research requirements at each of the six Poultry Science departments offering a degree in Poultry Science in the United States: NC State University, the University of Georgia, Auburn University, Mississippi State University, the University of Arkansas, and Texas A&M University.  The National Poultry Consortium proposes to develop a higher level poultry science programming that will impact: student recruitment, distance education, graduate training, research, and collaborative multi-state extension and outreach.

Why this funding is needed:  These funds are critical to the continued growth of the poultry industry in the state of North Carolina and in the Second District.  The poultry industry in North Carolina is the second largest in total production in the nation, providing thousands of jobs to the state.  The goal of the Consortium is to position the US poultry industry to continue its half-century of domestic and international success.

Request:  $ 13,000,000

Recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  The funds for this project will be used in administrative, research,  and building maintainence at the National Textile Center (NTC), a research consortium that serves the USA Fiber/Textile/Fiber Products/Retail Complex.  NTC was established to achieve research, education, and partnerships and at NCSU, has provided the foundation for successful textile protection and comfort labs. 

Why this funding is needed:  This initiative addresses a clear lack of competitive funding in the textile research arena, providing jobs and research into value-added products in the industry.  NTC has made numerous contributions to consumers, cotton growers, millers, and textile workers, by helping to transform the textile industry by providing a knowledge-based competitive edge through high value textiles.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Department of Transportation, 1 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  This project proposes to widen NC 24-87 (Bragg Boulevard) to six-lanes from the US 401 Bypass to north of SR 1437 (Sante Fe Drive/Shaw Road) in Fayetteville, NC.  This project is just south of the portion of Bragg Boulevard set to be closed as a result of the Ft. Bragg Force Protection Plan.

Why this funding is needed:  To promote the safety and security of Fort Bragg, the Army intends to close nearby Bragg Boulevard to civilian traffic.  NC 24-87 is a Strategic Highway Corridor, a designation given to roads that provide defense access, continuity, and emergency capabilities for movements of personnel and equipment in times of peace and war.  Widening of NC 24-87 is supported by local residents and Ft. Bragg officials. 

Request:  $ 300,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Department of Agriculture, 2 W. Edenton St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  The funds will be used for the state’s Multi-Hazard Threat Database (MHTD) and the Animal Health Programs (AHP) database which tracks farm locations and animal movement in North Carolina.  The Multi-Hazard Threat Database (MHTD) is a decision support tool for the emergency response community in North Carolina, without the AHP this would be an impossible task.

Why this funding is needed:  The database will allow for preemptive action by ensuring that proper information is provided when food-borne threats occur, such as salmonella or possible terrorist threats to the food supply, these funds will save lives and protect jobs.

Request:  $ 3,218,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Biotechnology Center, 15 T.W.  Dr., RTP, NC, 27709

Purpose:  Funding will support research and continued innovation and commercialization in existing and emerging bio-agriculture sectors, creating solutions beneficial to human health, the environment, and energy sustainability.

Why this funding is needed:  These funds will help provide economic stimulus in rural areas.  Funding will enhance commercialization and market distribution of new biotechnology.  A large-scale, agriculturally focused biotechnology initiative is the best way to capitalize on strong research and corporate infrastructure, accelerate ag-biotech innovation and product creation, and transfer the resulting benefits to rural areas where economic stimulation is critically needed.

Proposed recipient:  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Information & Library Science, 100 Manning Hall, Campus Box 3360, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599

Purpose:  The North Carolina Collaboratory for Bio-Preparedness (NC B-Prepared) would be an Office of Health Affairs demonstration project to support the development of a comprehensive, statewide system to analyze public health trends and detect incidents that may threaten homeland security.
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Why this funding is needed:  This project would serve as a demonstration for the Office of Health Affairs to potentially implement a national framework for bio-surveillance and decision support for incident management.  The North Carolina Collaboratory for Bio-Preparedness (NC B-Prepared) would develop a comprehensive, statewide system to analyze public health trends and detect incidents that may threaten homeland security.  It would link currently disparate and dissimilar data to make them available for analysis and to inform decision-making in real time.  Widespread biological incidents, whether the result of natural occurrence or deliberate attack, can lead to tremendous consequences for public health and homeland security.  Gaps in our nation’s bio-surveillance and bio-response capability severely limit our ability to detect and respond to such incidents.  Relevant and key data resources are not accessible, interoperable, configurable, scalable, secure or sufficiently functional to meet today’s increasing threat potential.  By meeting this challenge comprehensively and at a statewide level, this project would address this pressing national need.

Request:  $ 1,203,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Governor’s Office, 1801 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC, 27699

Purpose:  The funds will be used to provide classroom instruction to youth committed to the Department after being adjudicated delinquent for serious or violent offenses, or after being found to have a long delinquency history.  These funds will be used for facilities and maintenance, as well as for instructional personel.

Why this funding is needed:  The funding will help North Carolina reduce recidivism in juvenile offenders, saving taxpayer money and improving public safety.  North Carolina is in a severe economic recession, at a time when the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is in the middle of reforming the entire juvenile system.  These funds will help create a modern system for North Carolina that will result in fewer offenders, thus saving taxpayer expenditures on interdiction.

Request:  $ 2,900,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  Funding will support the redesign and expansion of an initiative that has been shown to make a difference in learning in North Carolina.  Redesign 2.0 leverages the resources of two successful organizations, the NC New Schools Project and the Friday Institute at North Carolina State University to build on the state-funded NC 1:1 Learning Technology Initiative (NCLTI). NCLTI will expand the initiative in a public-private collaboration combining the strengths of the NC New Schools Project’s efforts in school redesign with the technology, education, and curriculum design expertise of SAS and the Friday Institute.  The basic school “redesign” principles include preparing students for college, powerful and professional teaching and learning, personalized instruction, and thoughtful curricular design.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will create a roadmap to educational technology implementation that may be replicated by any high school nationwide.  The goal is to build on lessons learned from NCLTI and establish a small number of proof-of-concept schools along with documentation, best practices, readiness criteria, and technology-enriched design principles a veritable roadmap to successful implementation of a 1:1 laptop learning environment that may be replicated by any high school.

Request:  $ 1,700,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina National Guard, 4105 Reedy Creek Rd., JFHQ-NC, Raleigh, NC, 27607
 
Purpose:  North Carolina National Guard currently operates one facility in Salemburg, N.C., that graduates approximately 220 cadets each year.  This request will provide operations and maintenance funding to run a second site in Badin, N.C., that will ultimately graduate 500 cadets per year.  This second site will provide a more western North Carolina location to ensure at-risk youth throughout the state have the opportunity to become productive, employed, law abiding citizens of North Carolina. The program is a community-based program that leads, trains, and mentors at-risk youth so they may become productive, employed, and law-abiding citizens in America’s future. 

Why this funding is needed:  This award-winning initiative has been recognized as one of the nation’s most effective and cost efficient efforts to target youth who are at the greatest risk for substance abuse, teen pregnancy, delinquency, and involvement in criminal activities.  The program currently operates at 33 program sites in 29 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico and has graduated more than 70,000 corpsmembers of which more than 70 percent have earned their GED or high school diploma.  In Fiscal Year 2007, 20 percent of graduates of the Youth ChalleNGe Program entered the military.  In addition to the broad benefit of improving young peoples’ lives, this program serves as an excellent recruiting and public relations tool for the National Guard and the military.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  City of Fayetteville, 117 Dick St., Fayetteville, NC, 28303

Purpose:  The funds will be used to construct a new sanitary sewer system for this lower-income community that is suffering from failing septic tank systems. 

Why this funding is needed:  These systems are badly needed to meet the infrastructure needs of the growing area adjacent to the Fort Bragg military residential community consisting of lower income and military retirees.  In addition to human health concerns, failing septic tanks threaten the water quality of tributaries to the Cape Fear River.  Several homes have already been condemned by the County’s Health Department due to failed septic systems that are no longer repairable.

Request:  $ 3,500,000

Proposed recipient:  Partnership for Defense Innovation, 455 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC, 28301

Purpose:  Funding would be provided for completion, testing and validation of a Tactical Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Situational Awareness System (TPSS) that will provide PSYOP forces necessary capability to maintain situational awareness to properly and fully support operations to influence designated target audience behavior in permissive and non-permissive operational environments.  TPSS must be able to inner-operate with the systems used in both army centric and joint environments. The TPSS system enables the PSYOP ground force to immediately share critical imagery, intelligence or information developed during tactical operations among individuals and small units, and to immediately transmit that information between Tactical PSYOP Teams and other battlefield communications systems to the appropriate higher operational commands.

Why this funding is needed:  The United States Special Operations Command Initial Capabilities Document for Joint Psychological Operations illustrates that PSYOP forces lack the ability to maintain situational awareness and conduct collaborative and adaptive planning in the execution of the PSYOP mission.  PSYOP forces of the future will be increasingly employed in support of operations and be required to conduct extensive and thorough planning designed to have the greatest possible impact on designated target audiences. These PSYOP forces also need to be able to maintain communications with other Tactical PSYOP Teams operating within the same area but under different commands and their organic Command and Control elements.  This project would create the needed TPSS capability in order to meet anticipated support requirements to Special Operations and conventional forces.

Request:  $ 500,000

Proposed recipient:  Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311-1498
 
Purpose:  Federal funding will support the construction of a Human Anatomy Laboratory for Methodist University’s Physician Assistant Master’s Program, and will be used to purchase specialized equipment, in order to accommodate increasing student enrollment demands and increase health care access to medically underserved areas in North Carolina.  The program was established as a response to the critical health care needs of rural North Carolina.  Physician Assistant students are trained to work in all areas of medicine, especially primary care settings, and to serve rural populations that are most vulnerable, including the elderly, economically disadvantaged, HIV patients, racial and ethnic minorities, and patients with disabilities.  They are trained to work with family violence issues, substance abuse (a growing problem in rural areas), psychiatry, and physical rehabilitation.  Methodist University partners with medical offices, hospitals, Womack Army Medical Center, the Veterans Medical Center, and clinics throughout the community and region to provide rotations required for students. 

Why this funding is needed:  Funding will support the development of a new generation of health care providers in North Carolina to meet a pressing need.  In June 2007, the North Carolina Institute of Medicine reported a severe shortage of healthcare professionals and urged the Physician Assistant (PA) program to increase its enrollment by 30%.  In order to accommodate increasing student enrollment demands and to increase health care access to medically underserved areas in North Carolina, Methodist University must expand its current facility and purchase necessary medical equipment to extend its program to additional qualified students.

Request:  $ 1,995,000

Requested by:  Campbell University, 205 Day Dorm Rd., Room 101, Buies Creek, NC, 27506
 
Purpose:  Funding will support a series of curricular and program innovations at the Campbell University School of Pharmacy designed to address the problem of the dire shortage of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in pharmacy field.  The school is dedicated to promoting diversity in the pharmacy profession and health-related professions. The school remains committed to having a diverse student population and to preparing graduates to be providers of culturally sensitive and appropriate health care in the practice of pharmacy.

Why this funding is needed:  The project will provide the educational programming and resources necessary to produce a needed model to attract, identify and retain qualified individuals of underrepresented ethnic and socioeconomic populations into pharmacy and pharmacy-related health professions.  Healthcare outcomes improve when healthcare providers are culturally competent, and access to healthcare by minority populations is improved by a workforce that is culturally diverse.

Request:  $ 1,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University College of Textiles, Campus Box 7214, Administrative Services III, Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  This funding would support the development of a next-generation platform to test new materials and systems to protect our emergency responders, industrial users and military personnel from chemical and biological threats.  The Department of Defense has funded a Man-in-Simulant-Test (MIST) facility at North Carolina State University to provide a system for research and development of new gear as well as for testing to certify protective performance of ensemble systems in chemical exposure scenarios.  Requested funding would build upon that unique capability to create a second-generation manikin test system to enable real-time measurement of simulant vapor infiltration into protective clothing ensembles.  In addition, the proposed manikin system will include unprecedented range-of-motion capability, new skin-simulation technology, and enhanced simulation of sweating and heat loss to better simulate physiological stress.  The system would be a powerful tool to reduce the cost and time required for creating new protective gear, and it would provide a unique resource for basic research on protection mechanisms and can model the infiltration of agents into protective ensemble systems.  The proposed system will provide the most powerful tool for research and development of new chemical and biological protective ensembles available in the world.

While the need is great for this technology, the industry is composed of relatively small companies who cannot readily afford both the capital investment and the specialized technological expertise needed to have such a system.  The proposed system will provide a basis to perform key modeling research to better understand barrier performance and infiltration into protective ensembles, supporting jobs in North Carolina and future business development.

Why this funding is needed:  The MIST Manikin system will provide powerful testing and modeling tools that are not currently available anywhere and will speed the development of new military and first responder protective ensembles.
 
Our armed forces and emergency responders face potential exposure to multiple threats including chemical and biological (CB) weapons. Proper assessment of protective clothing and equipment requires full ensembles to be tested to determine whether they reduce exposure to chemical and biological toxins. Furthermore, it remains important to determine the level of physiological stress from wearing such protective clothing. 

North Carolina is a leader in both providing military forces and technologies and in having a materials and protective technologies infrastructure.  Positioning the enhanced capabilities of the new MIST manikin system in the Textile Protection and Comfort Center would provide ready access to a powerful tool for developing new materials and protective ensembles and for demonstrating their capabilities to protect military and first responder users.  The U.S. Program Executive Office, Army Simulation and Training Technology Center, which has funded MIST in the past, has inquired about further enhancements. The new features supported by this request would provide key enabling technologies for the long-term military objective of an untethered manikin system with a number of advanced capabilities.

Request:  $ 694,610

Proposed recipient:  Wake Technical Community College, 9101 Fayetteville Rd., Raleigh, NC, 27603

Purpose:  The funding for this project will be used to provide a simulation environment for emergency medical and law enforcement personnel to gain proactive and reactive skills in the event of an emergency.  It would provide realistic settings for real-life situations faced by emergency responders. 

Why this funding is needed:  This project will help first responders and leave them better equipped for emergency situations, making the entire community safer.  If federal dollars are spent preparing for security, less dollars will need to be spent reacting to national emergencies. 

Request:  $ 550,000

Recipient:  City of Raleigh, P.O. Box 590, Raleigh, NC, 27602

Purpose:  Funding will support administrative resources in the Raleigh Police Department that are necessary to work in partnership with the City/County Bureau of Identification, to launch a pilot project entitled Rapid Identification.  Funding for this project will also enhance interoperability efforts by providing the ability to make positive automated fingerprint identification. 

Why this funding is needed:  These funds will allow the county to comply with current statute.  Law enforcement agencies in Wake County require technology to enhance the current method of providing positive fingerprint identification in real time in the field.  The portable device will provide a mobile means of positive identification for law enforcement while improving interoperability.

Request:  $ 5,800,000

Proposed recipient:  Shaw University, 118 E. South St., Raleigh, NC, 27601 
 
Purpose:  Funding will establish a Bio-based Technology Institute at Shaw University in the multidisciplinary bio-educational technologies and promote cutting edge technologies in a minority setting.  It will also support the development of mobile training laboratories and a Partnership for Excellence in Natural Sciences and Social Sciences (PENSS) program.

Why this funding is needed:  Funding will help develop new technology and understanding of renewable energy and the application of bio-technologies in bio-fuel sourcing.  By infusing strategized bio-based technologies educational programs into skills-training programs to enhance capability, REBUILD will engage underserved and underrepresented communities in the bio-technology industrial revolution to promote economic development and job creation.

Request:  $ 28,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Stephen Leach 1825 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20009
 
Purpose:  Funding will be used for purposes authorized in Section 5451 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. 

Why this funding is needed:  Reading Is Fundamental enhances child literacy by providing millions of underserved children with free books for personal ownership and reading encouragement from the more than 18,000 locations throughout all fifty states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  City of Fayetteville, 117 Dick St., Suite 507, Fayetteville, NC, 28301

Purpose:  Funds will be used to purchase mobile and portable radios in order to convert from analog to digital, allowing the city and county to reach full compliance with interoperable communications goals by the year 2014 so that all local agencies can communicate directly using one communications system. 

Why this funding is needed:  Interoperability communications are necessary to allow agencies from multiple jurisdictions to communicate in an emergency.  These funds will allow law enforcement to complete a conversion of this radio system. 

Request:  $ 500,000.00

Proposed recipient:  Louisburg College, 501 N. Main St., Louisburg, NC, 27549
 
Purpose:  Funding will support the renovation of Franklin Hall which houses science classrooms and laboratories for Louisburg College. Franklin Hall is a part of the Old Main Building which was constructed in 1857, and served as a Civil War Hospital in 1865. 
 
Why this funding is needed:  This project will substantially improve the learning environment and capacity in the sciences for Louisburg College’s students, and contribute to the local economy, creating and preserving jobs.  The college, a cornerstone of the Louisburg community for 220 years, needs funding to maintain its accreditation and remain open.  Funding will also help Louisburg College preserve a piece of American history.

Request:  $ 2,400,000

Proposed recipient:  NCDOT Public Transportation Division, 1 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  These funds will be used to expand and improve the Capital Area Transit bus transfer facility at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.  This will allow for expansion of city transit services and improve an aging facility.

Why this funding is needed:  The expansion and improvement of the facility will allow for expansion of city transit services promoting increased mass transit use, maintaining clean air and mitigating congestion on city streets.  These infrastructure improvements will provide construction jobs as well as improving the downtown area.

Request:  $ 6,431,200

Proposed recipient:  NCDOT Public Transportation, 1 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  These funds will be used to purchase 24 buses for Capital Area Transit.  Fourteen will replace aging buses in the city's current fleet while 10 new buses will allow the city to expand transit services.

Why this funding is needed:  The purchase of replacement and expansion buses will allow the city to provide more and better transit services that will promote the use of mass transit to mitigate congestion on city streets, maintain air quality within acceptable standards and support the growth of the economy. These improvements will provide a more convenient and effective transit network for the city's citizens, employees and visitors.

Title:  Rural Business Finance Program

Request:  $ 750,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Inc., 4021 Carya Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27610

Purpose:  This funding will help the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center’s Rural Business Finance Program provide marketing, technical assistance, and fellowships to assist business development in the most distressed rural counties of North Carolina.

Why this funding is needed:  Especially in this economic downturn, the availability of credit is critical to create jobs and improve our communities. The Rural Venture Fund and the Microenterprise Loan Program enable the Business Finance Program to fill gaps that are not met by traditional banks and lenders, venture capital firms or angel funds that gravitate toward profit maximization and tend to operate in predominantly urban areas.  This will strengthen businesses in rural counties and help to provide jobs to local workers.

Request:  $ 949,068

Proposed recipient:  Lee County, 572 Pumping Station Rd., Sanford, NC, 27330

Purpose:  The funds will be used for required modifications to the San-Lee Park Dam.  These include removing and reconstructing and expanding the spillway channel, so that it will meet regulatory requirements.  To protect downstream residents within the flood zone, the floodwall height along the top of the dam must be raised to increase floodwater retention.

Why this funding is needed:  This project will prevent a breach of the reservoir, ensuring clean water for the surrounding community and preventing destruction of private and public property during floods.  Due to an increase of impervious surface area within San-Lee drainage basin, the reservoir dam located at San-Lee Park is in need of major rehabilitation.  A breech of the reservoir would be detrimental to the park and the citizens of the community. The construction will also help the quality of life by maintaining the park, which offers walking, hiking and mountain bike trails; camping; fishing; paddle boat rentals; picnic and playground facilities; as well as an educational wildlife nature center and summer camps.

Request:  $ 950,000

Recipient:  Town of Rocky Mount, 330 S Church St., Rocky Mount, NC, 27804

Purpose:  Funds will be used to purchase network sensors to be placed at specific coordinates on buildings and telephone poles throughout a two square mile area to accurately detect and locate the origin of gunshots and weapons-events.   Once a gunshot is detected, ShotSpotter calculates the position where the gun was fired and sends the data to a central server accessible by law-enforcement agencies. 

Why this funding is needed:  This project will reduce crime in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  Police, sheriffs, the FBI, and other law enforcement organizations nationwide have been successful in using ShotSpotter GLS to reduce crime.  Agencies using ShotSpotter systems have seen gunfire related violent crime rates fall by at least 30%, and have a more than a 50% increase in gunfire arrests. ShotSpotter has also been responsible for producing countless arrests, decreasing police response time, increasing officer safety, pinpointing key forensic evidence, and saving numerous lives.

Title:  Smithfield Recreation Center

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Town of Smithfield, PO Box 2344, Smithfield, NC, 27577

Purpose:  This funding will be used to complete a new recreation center in Smithfield, North Carolina, a joint project of the Town of Smithfield and Johnston County Schools.  The funding will help build classrooms for the schools, exercise rooms for the activities of the Johnston County Health Department, and an aquatic center for the community. 

Why this funding is needed:  This project will help boost economic activity in the area and support quality of life through activities for students, the county’s unerprivileged, and seniors.  Its permanent employment will bring 25-35 jobs to the area, but its impact will be to make the region a better place to live and work.  This will be the only facility of its kind in Johnston County (population 155,000), and has signifcant buy-in from the local community.

Request:  $ 558,000

Proposed recipient: Fayetteville State University, 1200 Murchison Rd., Fayetteville, NC, 28301

Purpose:  This project will help Fayetteville State University and the University of North Carolina - Pembroke develop a scanning electron microscope (SEM) facility.  Funds will be used to support initial lab start-up costs, graduate fellowships, marketing, and outreach efforts to encourage use by neighboring educational institutions, defense contractors, the military, and other local businesses.

The SEM is a tool for failure analysis, process development, and quality control for all levels of electronics manufacturing. When coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS or EDX), the SEM can produce elemental information crucial to most investigations. The capability for SEMs to image solder joints, component and board plating, integrated circuits, PWB features, and metallizations has been key in the development of improved components, materials and processes. The presence of an electron microprobe facility on campus will help FSU, UNC-P and the region support DOD related research as well as ongoing military missions.

Why this funding is needed:  This facility has been identified in the BRAC Regional Partnership marketing materials as an entity that can provide Fort Bragg a high-tech research facility within close proximity and with faculty who can consult on public/private research endeavors and research with DOD and military contractors.

As some examples, the military has used the SEM to determine the cause of failure in a ruptured lead-lined tank, investigate lead pipes for chemical treatment of aluminum aircraft parts, and characterize the graphite fibers emitted from burning graphite/epoxy composites.

The University has representation on and a memorandum of understanding with the Partnership for Defense Innovation Board.  The board has oversight of the Defense Security Technology Accelerator, which helps address both military and commercial needs in the areas of defense, security and intelligence communities.

Request:  $ 300,000

Recipient:  Harnett County, 200 E. Front St., Lillington, NC, 27546

Purpose:  Harnett County will use these funds to continue construction of a new wastewater treatment facility on the Lower Little River, which will provide wastewater service to the South Central portion of the County.  This project is part of a long-term management plan that was first formulated in 1987.

Why this funding is needed:  These funds will support the continued economic viability of the area by ensuring the necessary basic infrastructure for its citizens and businesses.  In February 2003 county voters approved a $42-million-dollar bond referendum to construct the necessary collectors and wastewater pump stations for this project.  The requested funds will expidite the existing bond funds and allow the project to remain up-to-date.

Request:  $ 300,000

Proposed recipient:  NCSU, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  This project will fund research scientists and facilities to develop better methods to control the spread of the devastating Plectris aliena sweet potato grub.

Why this funding is needed:  Research in this project will help protect sweet potatoes in the United States from Plectris aliena, an invasive white grub.  Though present in the US for nearly a century, the insect remained relatively obscure until 2006 when devastating infestations occurred in several hundred acres of sweet potatoes in North Carolina.  Now, infestation is widespread and growing.  The Second Congressional District is the largest sweet potato producing district in the nation, and this crop is responsible for significant economic impact to the state.  Funding will help our nation’s sweet potato farmers remain economically viable and benefit North Carolina’s agricultural economy.

Request:  $ 500,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina State University, 20 Watauga Club Dr., Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  Funding will support research scientists and facilities necessary to provide science-based technology applications to mitigate ammonia, greenhouse gases, and particulate emissions from livestock and poultry production facilities.  The project is consistent with, and builds upon environmental technology development efforts underway that are supported by state and federal agencies, several agribusiness industries, and commodity, environmental, and foundation groups.

Why this funding is needed:  Funding will help the environmental economy, and job creation in the livestock industry.  This research will help the livestock industry comply with state environmental regulations and generate new waste and energy solutions that will help the industry create and preserve thousands of jobs in one of the largest agriculure-based industries in North Carolina.

Request: $25,000,000

Requested by:  Teach for America, 315 W. 36th St., New York, NY, 10018
 
Purpose:  Teach for America is an authorized federal program under P.L. 110-315.  The purpose of the funding is to go towards the recruitment, selection, placement and professional development of an estimated 8200 first- and second-year teachers in 39 low-income regions across the nation. These teachers will reach an estimated 525,000 underserved students. The $25 million in federal funds will leverage roughly $160 million in corporate, foundation and individual dollars and will make up an estimated 13 percent of Teach For America's anticipated 2010 operating revenue of $190 million.

Why this funding is needed:  This is a valuable investment of federal funds as this national corps of outstanding college graduates and young professionals of all academic majors, career interests and backgrounds commit at least two years to teach in urban and rural public schools in our nation's lowest-income communities and become lifelong leaders for expanding educational opportunity. Teach For America is a non-profit with a mission of enlisting our nation's most promising future leaders in the movement to eliminate educational inequality. This is accomplished by building a diverse, highly selective national teacher corps, ensuring that corps members are highly effective classroom teachers in the highest-need classrooms across the country, and supporting the corps members beyond their two-year commitment to ensure their lifelong engagement.

Request:  $ 3,560,429.95

Proposed recipient:  Franklin County, Economic Development Commission, 112-D Wheaton Dr., Youngsville, NC,  27596

Purpose:  This funding will build the infrastructure of the existing Triangle North Business Park which contributes to economic activity in a Four-county region.  Funds will be used to supply wastewater services from the existing service center near Royal Elementary School to the Triangle North Franklin site, including construction of   a new pump station, and improvement of an existing station.

Why this funding is needed:  Investing in the infrastructure of the Triangle North Business Park will contribute to the success of a regional business park that shares revenues among four rural counties: Warren, Vance, Franklin, Granville.  With adequate infrastructure, 25 businesses could locate at the park supporting 3,000 jobs for the region. Endorsed by the General Assembly and cited by federal Economic Development officials for its unique regional design, this project can be a model for regional cooperation and economic development.

Request:  $ 6,000,000

Proposed recipient:  Saab Barracuda LLC, 608 E. McNeill St., Lillington, NC, 27546

Purpose:  The funding requested would provide the Ultra Lightweight Camouflage Net System (ULCANS) for one Marine Expeditionary Force.  ULCANS is a next-generation camouflage system. ULCANS increases survivability against advanced multi-spectral visual, infrared (IR), and radar (RF) threats, providing reduced probability of visual detection, enhanced thermal and radar signature suppression, and improved background matching. ULCANS “Marine friendly” features include a more durable and snag-resistant design over alternative camouflage options and reduces deployment and recovery time.

Why this funding is needed:  ULCANS will greatly enhance the ability of combat troops and support units to conceal military target signatures of weapons, vehicles, and semi-permanent positions in situations where natural cover or concealment may be absent or inadequate.  ULCANS can also help conceal permanent prominent objects and objects in a fixed pattern or array which present obvious targets.  The United States Marine Corps has an Unfunded Requirement (UFR) for ULCANS, which would be met by this funding.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Department of Transportation, 1 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  This project proposes to widen US 401 to a multi-lane facility between Raleigh and Fayetteville.  This project is needed to alleviate the existing and future capacity deficiencies along US 401.

Why this funding is needed:  US 401 is a major thoroughfare for Fuquay-Varina and Lillington that serves commuters between these communities and both Raleigh and Fayetteville.  It is identified as a Strategic Highway Corridor in North Carolina and will provide a continuous multi-lane facility through a rapidly growing area. These infrastructure improvements will create jobs and help attract businesses to the area.

Request:  $ 2,000,000

Proposed recipient:  North Carolina Department of Transportation, 1 S. Wilmington St.,    Raleigh, NC, 27601

Purpose:  This project, TIP # R-2417, will construct the Sanford Bypass, U.S. 421, in Lee County, North Carolina.  This road will provide an alternative corridor from Greensboro to Wilmington and connect Sanford to Ft. Bragg via NC 87.  This will be a multi-lane freeway in a new location.
 
Why this funding is needed:  US 421 is part of the National Highway System and the state's Strategic Highway Corridor Program. By providing an alternative route from Greensboro to Wilmington and connecting Sanford to Ft. Bragg via NC 87, these infrastructure improvements help to attract businesses to the area in the future.  The construction will also create jobs.

Request:  $ 400,000

Proposed recipient:  USDA-ARS Regional Lab, 3411 Gardner Hall, Raleigh, NC, 27695

Purpose:  Funding will support research activities at the USDA-ARS Regional Molecular Genotyping Lab in Raleigh, North Carolina.  This research will facilitate the application of genomics information and DNA molecular marker technologies to improve and breed wheat, barley and oats.  Regional genotyping (ARS Raleigh Lab) laboratories overcome barriers to practical use of markers through application of automated DNA extraction for research purposes.

Why this funding is needed:  This research will increase agricultural output nationwide and ensure the continued viability and stability of the critical grain production system.

Request:  $ 200,000

Proposed recipient:  Cumberland County, 117 Dick St., Room 512, Fayetteville, NC, 28301
 
Purpose:  Federal funding will help Cumberland County’s Veteran’s Services office digitize current files, reducing expenses and streamlining operations.  The office currently uses staff time to maintain the hardcopy files and maintains extra space to store these files.
 
Why this funding is needed:  This funding will help Cumberland County’s Veteran’s Services Office better provide services to the men and women who served our country.  It will also have ancillary benefits locally, regionally, and nationally. Locally, digitizing the records will help solve a capacity and funding problem with the additional man hours it takes to maintain the files.  Regionally, automating these files will allow them to be transferred easily as a patient requires services and needs to move between Cumberland County and Winston-Salem for services provided.  Nationally, it will improve benefits for veterans.  It will also help the environment and reduce costs by reducing the use of paper.  Note that, because of the large volume of files and records on hand and the constant expansion due to the growing number of veterans in Cumberland County, it is estimated that in two to three years all space within the county Veteran’s Service Office will be exhausted without digital records