Congressman Cole Secures Funding in FY04 Spending Bill for Midwest City

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole secured $950,000 for priority projects in the Midwest City area in FY04 spending bills that passed in the U.S. House today. Included in the group of spending bills is funding for upgrades in first responder emergency equipment and water treatment.

Midwest City's Emergency Services Division is currently preparing to upgrade existing equipment utilized by the fire and police departments. Congressman Cole worked to secure $750,00 for the installation of mobile computer terminals in fire and police vehicles to provide vital information while they are in the field. Efficiency is increased by entering information immediately into a computer rather than producing reports at a later time from field paperwork and memory.

"Emergency response personnel require access to as much information as possible when making critical decisions in the field. These up-grades are important for the first-responders of Midwest City to continue providing high caliber emergency services," Congressman Tom Cole said. "With these computers, police officers will have direct access to wanted persons and stolen property databases. Fire units will utilize these systems to identify emergency situations, fire locations and hazardous material sites through GPS mapping technology," Congressman Tom Cole said.

Also included in this spending bill is $200,000 for improvements in the water treatment system.

These projects are included in the Conference Report on H.R. 2673, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2004. Congressman Cole worked with the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation to secure $6 million for the Job Access and Reverse Commute program and $6.25 million for the rehabilitation of buses and bus facilities statewide.

###