Baucus, Tester announce $386K for security at Great Falls Airport

Funding comes to Montana from jobs-stimulus bill

(BIG SANDY, Mont.) – U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester say the Great Falls Airport will receive more than $386,000 to purchase new security equipment thanks to the Jobs-stimulus Bill they recently passed in Congress.

The Great Falls Airport will use the $386,067 from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for a high-tech Reveal CT80 bomb detector.  The new equipment will speed-up the check-in process by allowing security agents to screen for explosives without opening luggage.

“We are grateful to our TSA partners for proactively pursuing stimulus funding for Great Falls,” said Cynthia Schultz, director of the Great Falls Airport Authority.  “The investment will improve checked bag processing by 30 minutes on our busiest flights.  And thanks to Senators Baucus and Tester for their support of aviation in Montana.”

“This is great news for the Great Falls Airport and all the communities that it serves,” said Baucus, chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.  “These dollars will support good-paying jobs while making air travel—and all the opportunities to boost our economy that come with it—safer and more convenient.”

“This funding will make work more efficient at the Great Falls Airport, saving taxpayers money and time,” said Tester, who serves on the influential Appropriations Committee, which oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security.  “This is another valuable investment for Montana, and it’s one of the many reasons I voted for the Jobs Bill.”

The funding announced today is in addition to more than $1 billion Montana is already receiving from the jobs-stimulus bill.  The measure will also cut more than $500 million in taxes on Montanans.