CHARLESTON, W.Va. -  Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Wednesday that the new FY 2010 Defense Department Appropriations bill passed by the Senate includes $113 million in funding for projects and programs in the Mountain State.

Byrd is the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"This funding keeps West Virginians on the job, our country's defenses strong, and our economic engine humming," Byrd said.

"Much of this work being conducted throughout the state of West Virginia is cutting edge technology that will have spillover effects for the private sector."

New funds in the Senate bill include:

| $16 million for improvements to military computer records being done by ManTech Corp., which employs 157 people in Hinton and Fairmont.

| $15 million for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology to covert medical data from facilities such as the Walter Reed Army Medical Center into digitized formats. Most of this work is being done at Webster County's Cowen IMC facility.

| $10 million to replace an aging steam plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, part of Rocket Center near Keyser, which employs 1,700 people.

| $10 million for the National Guard Training Center at Camp Dawson in Preston County.

| $8 million to study the use of titanium composites in military aircraft in Bridgeport.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -  Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Wednesday that the new FY 2010 Defense Department Appropriations bill passed by the Senate includes $113 million in funding for projects and programs in the Mountain State.

Byrd is the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"This funding keeps West Virginians on the job, our country's defenses strong, and our economic engine humming," Byrd said.

"Much of this work being conducted throughout the state of West Virginia is cutting edge technology that will have spillover effects for the private sector."

New funds in the Senate bill include:

| $16 million for improvements to military computer records being done by ManTech Corp., which employs 157 people in Hinton and Fairmont.

| $15 million for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology to covert medical data from facilities such as the Walter Reed Army Medical Center into digitized formats. Most of this work is being done at Webster County's Cowen IMC facility.

| $10 million to replace an aging steam plant at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, part of Rocket Center near Keyser, which employs 1,700 people.

| $10 million for the National Guard Training Center at Camp Dawson in Preston County.

| $8 million to study the use of titanium composites in military aircraft in Bridgeport.

| $7 million for Marshall University's Institute of Advanced Flexible Manufacturing Systems. Since 2001, the institute has helped nearly 5,000 manufacturers that employ nearly 70,000 people in West Virginia.

| $2.5 million to repair two Army National Guard storage and maintenance facilities in Eleanor.

Byrd also added a provision to the bill that requires the Defense Department to produce a report about its use of live primates in training regarding chemical and biological agents.

Byrd is also asking why primates are more efficient than using human simulators or other alternatives.

In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States gave Byrd, a longtime animal rights advocate, the Joseph Wood Krutch Medal.

Byrd also supported the successful effort, with Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to include $12 million in the bill to study the complex of symptoms typically referred to as "Gulf War Illnesses," including prolonged pain, cognitive impairment and persistent fatigue suffered by soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf War.

Differences between the Senate and House bills must be reconciled before the legislation is sent to President Obama for his signature.

@tag:Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.