The Senate is expected to vote this week on a bill that would designate certain Wisconsin businesses to help in the defense effort, according to Zach Goldberg, aide to U.S. Senator Herb Kohl.

The House-Senate Conference Committee approved the Defense Appropriations Bill Oct. 10. The bill included $129.1 million to be given to certain Wisconsin businesses and projects that would help the U.S. Department of Defense.

Kohl was a member of the Senate Appropriation Committee that initiated the bill in early August. The House and the Senate approved the bill later that month. The bill was revised and passed by the Conference Committee and now awaits approval from the Senate and the House.

Kohl has identified many Wisconsin companies as leading competitors for Department of Defense contracts. Some of these companies include the Oshkosh Truck Corporation, Silicon Graphics in Chippewa Valley, Eaton Corporation in Milwaukee, Track International of Port Washington, Extrusion Dies Inc. in Eau Claire, Rex Systems of Chippewa Falls and Ladish Co. in Cudahy.

“They approve award contracts to various private companies throughout the country,” Goldberg said. “They have continued to make products toward the defense effort.”

Goldberg said the companies are chosen depending on the quality and superiority of their products.

Kohl also requested in the bill that the University of Wisconsin receive $1 million for the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-lab. The Co-lab was established in 1999, and UW-Madison is the only site with this lab.

Goldberg said he was not aware of any criticism of the bill being publicly acknowledged; however, some constituents may feel spending $129.1 million on any bill is too much.

“There are some constituents that are against spending large amounts of money,” Goldberg said.

Although the bill has not received opposition, the Green Party is upset with Kohl’s decision to support the war on Iraq. Kohl released a statement Oct. 10 to President Bush supporting Bush’s use of force in Iraq.

“My vote today is a vote to support the president in his efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein. My vote is not an endorsement of a policy of preemptive war, whether initiated by the United States or any other country,” Kohl said. “My vote today is to authorize the president to gather a world force against the threat of a dangerous regime armed with chemical, biological and possibly nuclear weapons, and to disarm the regime.”

Jessica Thill, co-spokesperson for the Wisconsin Green Party, said Kohl’s vote is not the voice of the people.

“No one I talked to is for this war,” Thill said.

Thill said only five states in the nation voted against the use of force in Iraq, including Minnesota.

“There was a unified voice in Minnesota,” Thill said. “[Kohl] is concerned about his political career.”

Thill said the Green Party opposes the war on Iraq because the United States should be dealing more with domestic problems. She continued that the war on Iraq has become a distraction to domestic problems that are not being focused on.

Currently, the Green Party is searching for a candidate to run against Kohl in the next Senate election.

“We are searching for a candidate, someone at the very least that will listen to his constituents,” Thill said.