Washington, DC -  Congressman Mike Rogers said today the Tuskegee Airmen National Memorial should receive a record $6,700,000 in Fiscal Year 2006 to help accelerate construction on the $29 million Macon County project.

“The construction crews should get ready to go to work in Macon County,” Rogers said. “Just a few more small steps and we should begin to see the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen etched permanently into a memorial whose time has come.”

Rogers said the funds were included in the Conference Report for the Interior Department Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2006 which passed the House today XXX-XX. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration, and if passed as expected should be signed into law by the president later this year.

“Obviously I’m thrilled to have helped secure these funds, and would like to thank Senators Shelby and Sessions, as well as the House Leadership and President Bush, for their ongoing dedication to this project and to the people of Macon County,” Rogers said

In 2005 Rogers helped secure $1.5 million for project, and helped free up an additional $1 million in 2004. In November 2004 Rogers wrote Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten and Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton to ask for increased support for the project.

“Completing this project is about honoring some of East Alabama’s finest African Americans, and it is clear we’ve been successful in growing support for the Memorial in Congress,” Rogers added.

Rogers said the Tuskegee Airmen National Memorial is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to Macon County each year after completion.