US approved $11 million Budget for ESRI

President Obama signed a defense spending bill Monday that includes money for local projects requested by Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands.

The largest designation was $10.2 million for programs being developed by Redlands-based Environmental Systems Research Institute.

"The GIS technologies being developed at ESRI are some of the most innovative in the world, and they are widely used by the federal government in areas ranging from the Census to helping first responders in a crisis," Lewis, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Tuesday.

The House approved $11 million for ESRI when it passed the bill in late July. The Senate passed the bill Saturday.

The bill also includes $6.4 million for research programs conducted by Redlands-based Advatech Pacific, Inc., $2.4 million million for a project being developed by MetaFlows Inc. in Redlands, and $1 million for a University of Redlands project based on ESRI technology.

Overall, the legislation includes about $63 million requested by Lewis for local projects, according to his office.

The ESRI programs will help "disseminate satellite and other data to commanders and soldiers in the field, and will standardize data from international navigation databases and integrate it with defense, law enforcement and homeland security data to provide tools to military, homeland security and first responder defenders," according to Lewis's office.

The bill includes $508 billion for ongoing defense operations, and $128 billion to support troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The fiscal year began Oct. 1, so the funding became effective immediately when it was signed into law, according to Lewis's office.