Pete Domenici: “I rise today to discuss some successful Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security programs created in my…”

“I rise today to discuss some successful Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security programs created in my home State of New Mexico. One project, the foreign language translator, is a hands-free, voice-activated translator that allows troops to speak English phrases that are automatically broadcast in Arabic. The electronics for the translator are built by Crane Corporation of Albuquerque, NM and Laguna Industries assembles and tests the units in Cibola County, NM. I secured $1.4 million for this project in fiscal year 2005 Department of Defense funding, and its usefulness was highlighted in a June 19 Forbes article which quoted a Coast Guardsman as saying the device is the best interpreting tool available to date. Another project, the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center, or NISAC, is a joint Sandia/Los Alamos National Laboratories initiative that was created in 2000. NISAC studies critical infrastructure and models the effects of a potential terrorist attack on such infrastructure. This work has proven invaluable to our Nation.”