Legislation invests $75.2 million in Davis-Monthan and Fort Huachuca
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today joined a strong bipartisan majority in supporting America’s troops and veterans by voting for the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act of 2010.
The legislation provides critical funding for veterans’ health services, services for military families and the construction of housing and training facilities. It passed the House in a 415 to 3 vote and now goes before the Senate.
“The House of Representatives stands shoulder to shoulder with America’s warriors,” said Giffords, a member of the Armed Services Committee. “This funding provides greater services and better care for our armed forces and veterans. It builds on the progress we have made over the last two years to fulfill our promises to those who defended our freedoms.”
The bill provides $108.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, $14.5 billion more than 2009. It also provides $45.1 billion for the Veterans Health Administration, $4.4 billion more than 2009. The administration estimates that it will treat more than six million patients next year, including more than 419,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act allocates $24.6 billion for construction projects at American military installations around the world. Among them are five projects valued at $47.5 million at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson and three projects valued at $27.7 million at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista. The D-M projects include a dormitory and flight simulator facility, while the Fort Huchuca projects include a battalion headquarters and a fire station.
“This bill recognizes the importance of our military bases here in Southern Arizona,” Giffords said. “The eight projects I fought for in this bill will greatly expand the ability of our Army and Air Force to train our men and women to face any threat and meet any challenge around the world.”
Among the key allocations of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act:
• $4.6 billion to meet the growing need with troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• $1.1 billion to address the backlog in maintenance at our medical facilities
• $580 million for medical and prosthetic research related to veterans health, including a $48 million increase for research to address the critical needs of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans
• $533 million to expand eligibility for VA health care to an estimated 266,000 non-service-disabled veterans earning more than $30,000 a year, so-called Priority 8 veterans
• $3.2 billion for an initiative to combat homelessness, $150 million for the homeless grants and per diem program, and $20 million for supportive services for low income veterans and families
• Adds roughly 1,200 additional claims processors to continue to work down the backlog of veterans’ benefits claims and to reduce the time to process new claims
• $3.3 billion for new initiatives, including paperless benefits processing and improvements in electronic health records
• $107 million to provide additional oversight personnel, including initiatives regarding financial audit and information technology program reviews
• $450 million to accelerate the Army’s program to modernize troop housing facilities for trainees
• $200 million in additional funding for Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy and Marine Corps Reserve, and Air Force Reserve construction to address critical unfunded requirements
• $2 billion to address inadequate military family housing
• $1.4 billion in additional military construction requirements to support operations and troop increases in Afghanistan
• $537 million to address the large backlog of unfunded environmental cleanup for bases that were closed during the four previous BRAC rounds