By Mark Scott
Washington, DC – The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved millions of dollars in defense spending for Western New York. The bill now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.
The spending bill includes $2 million for UB's Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics.
"Bioinformatics is Buffalo's future and every dollar that we get for this project makes that future brighter and brighter," said Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY. "If there was ever a project that can make a difference in the effort to rejuvenate New York, this is it."
Sierra Research in Cheektowaga will receive $24 million for new defense technology for the armed forces. Another $11 million was appropriated to Amherst Systems for further development of a threat simulator.
"As our war against terrorism has shown, our defense technologies are more important than ever," said Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY. "By directing federal dollars to projects in our backyard, we provide a much-needed boost to upstate New York's economy."
Schumer and Clinton say they expect the funding for these technology projects to be included in the final version of the defense bill.