U.S. HOUSE Bill includes funds for RMI

If approved, the money would fund research on making weapons lighter.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WEATHERSFIELD -- RMI Titanium stands to gain $6 million in new federal defense funding under the House version of the 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill.
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Concord, R-14th, said he helped to secure $12 million for two Northeast Ohio companies -- $6 million for STERIS, a Mentor-based biological and chemical decontamination technology company, and $6 million for RMI, a titanium mill in Weathersfield Township.
Two other local legislators, Reps. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, also voted for the bill, approved Tuesday by a vote of 403-17.
LaTourette said RMI's appropriation would be used to develop new manufacturing methods to lower the cost of U.S.-made metals used in weapon production.
RMI would partner with another Ohio company, American Engineering and Manufacturing, to find ways to reduce weapon weight through the use of metals like titanium, which is known for its strength and light weight.
RMI, which employs 530 locally, is one of just three titanium producers in the United States. About 360 union workers there, members of United Steelworkers of America locals 2155 and 2155-7, have been locked out in a labor dispute since Oct. 26.
Richard Leone, an RMI spokesman, said he could not discuss the research-project funding because it is related to national defense. He also declined to comment on the lockout, saying the company will continue its policy of communicating on that subject only through press releases.
In the Senate
Deborah Setliff, a spokeswoman for LaTourette, said the U.S. Senate is discussing its own defense appropriations bill this week. Although the Senate version does not contain funding for RMI and STERIS, she said LaTourette is confident the appropriations will be added in the final bill, a compromise between the House and Senate versions.
The $417 billion House defense bill includes a 3.5 percent pay increase for the military, new weapons systems and $25 billion for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year's defense bill totaled $401.3 million.
vinarsky@vindy.com