Indiana

Rolls Royce will keep making Joint Strike Fighter engine; bill preserves 300 Indianapolis jobs, up to $1.7 billion for state economic development

October 28, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today praised President Obama’s signing of a defense spending bill that includes full funding for an alternate Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine made in Indianapolis.

Bayh led the fight on the Senate floor to secure funding for Rolls Royce North America to develop and produce the military fighter engine at its Indianapolis facility. When funding for the program was stripped out of the legislation this summer, Bayh successfully fought to have it reinstated in a joint Senate-House conference committee.    » read more »

Investment will create green jobs and help Hoosier consumers conserve energy, lower utility costs

October 27, 2009 -- Washington -- Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive more than $39 million in economic recovery funds to modernize local electrical grids and accelerate Indiana’s transition to a more efficient electric system.

Smart grids are modernized electricity grids that deliver power from suppliers to consumers in a way that saves energy and lowers consumer costs for using electricity during non-peak hours. Bayh announced the funding for Auburn, Carmel and Indianapolis today under The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.    » read more »

Delphi selected to develop new technology; will create middle-class, green jobs for Hoosiers

October 26, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Delphi Automotive Systems of Kokomo will receive more than $6.7 million in economic recovery funds to develop new energy technology designed to improve power delivery from batteries to electric motors.

“This funding will enable Delphi to make the kind of high-reward investments in clean energy that are so critical to power our emerging green economy in Indiana,” Bayh said. “This will not only create middle-class green jobs for Hoosiers, but has the potential to dramatically lower energy use and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil as well.”    » read more »

Agency Decides in Favor of Citizens and Environmental Groups

CHICAGO (October 19, 2009) - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued an objection to the operating permit for BP North America’s refinery in Whiting, IN that will require the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to rewrite the permit.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS -- October 15, 2009 -- Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said today the state has terminated its contract with IBM for the delivery of welfare services. The contract was canceled because the company did not make satisfactory progress to improve services to welfare applicants and recipients under a plan to correct deficiencies.

In its place, the Family and Social Services Administration will go to a hybrid system that will incorporate successful elements of the old welfare delivery system and what is known as the modernized system. The hybrid system will include more face-to-face contact and more localized team-based case management.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar and Rep. Brad Ellsworth have secured $1,000,000 for advanced manufacturing and engineering equipment at the University of Southern Indiana (USI). Congress signed-off on the funding as part of the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill this week.

"The long-term strength of Indiana's economy rests on maintaining a well-trained workforce," said Ellsworth. "These funds will help ensure USI graduates have the cutting-edge training and skills Indiana businesses need to recover and compete in the global economy."    » read more »

Major Clean Energy Job Creation Boom Seen for Economically Struggling Hoosier State

CHICAGO (October 7, 2009) - Wind power, biomass, and other sources of renewable energy will bring significant job creation, economic investment and new tax revenues to Indiana’s struggling rural communities, according to a new report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).    » read more »

New standard home office tax deduction would help 180,000 Hoosier entrepreneurs claim up to $1,500 in simplified relief

October 6, 2009 -- Washington -- Seeking to make it easier for Indiana’s 180,000 home-based small businesses to take advantage of an important tax deduction, Senator Evan Bayh today proposed legislation to simplify the federal home office tax deduction and provide small businesses additional help to succeed.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive $2.86 million to clean up and revitalize brownfield areas. The funds were awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program.

The grants will help improve abandoned and underused industrial and commercial lands by cleaning and restoring them for future use in Indiana communities. The Indiana Finance Authority will receive $2.5 million for the Indiana Revolving Loan Fund, while the City of South Bend has been awarded $360,000 for a brownfield revolving loan.    » read more »

Recovery Act Funding to Provide Policymakers and Consumers with Improved Data on Internet Service in California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont

October 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it has awarded the first four grants under NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program to fund activities in California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont.    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive more than $935,000 as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awards made by the Department of Energy.

“This economic recovery funding will create jobs for Hoosiers, lessen our dependence on oil, and take another important step toward building a greener economy in Gary,” Bayh said. “Putting middle-class Hoosiers back to work in jobs that will help us create a more livable planet is a winning formula for our future.”    » read more »

Investigation requested by Bayh to examine handling of exposure of Indiana National Guard soldiers in Iraq

October 1, 2009 -- Washington -- At the request of Senator Evan Bayh, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) announced that it will initiate an investigation into the U.S. Army’s response to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers—including 142 members of the Indiana National Guard—to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.    » read more »

Navistar truck will be built in Elkhart County; project will produce hundreds of new Hoosier jobs; reduce our dependency on oil

September 30, 2009 -- Washington -- Senator Evan Bayh, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, today joined executives from Navistar, Inc., to unveil the company’s new all-electric, light-duty truck to be built exclusively in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Navistar officials demonstrated their vehicle to Bayh, who discussed Indiana’s role as a national leader in making the energy-efficient, high-tech vehicles and components of the future.    » read more »

Sept. 15, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced Indiana will receive more than $1.9 million in economic recovery funds to support energy efficiency and conservation programs in Hamilton, LaPorte and St. Joseph counties and the city of Carmel.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program administered by the Department of Energy, will help these communities implement initiatives that lower energy use, reduce carbon pollution and create middle-class green jobs in Indiana.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS (August 27, 2009) - The state's energy conservation proposal to use nearly $132 million in federal stimulus funding to help more than 30,000 low-income Hoosier households has been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy.

"We appreciate the department giving the green light to our program. We're eager to get going," said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. "Our goal is to lower utility costs for as many people as possible as quickly as possible, putting a dent in Indiana's overall energy consumption along the way."    » read more »