July 10, 2009

House Passes Military Construction / VA Appropriations Bill

More than $415 million in construction funding will be headed to military bases in Washington next year, resulting in continued expansion of Fort Lewis as well as modernization of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Sub Base Bangor, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said today.

The House passed today passed the Military Construction / VA appropriations bill for the next fiscal year which provides funds for building projects at U.S. military bases worldwide in addition to the operations of the Veterans Administration and its medical facilities across the country. 

Included in the bill are facilities to accommodate the additional (third) Stryker Combat Brigade that has been placed at Fort Lewis.  The move has brought the total base population to more than 30,000 Soldiers, 4,200 Department of the Army civilians and about 7,000 contractors.  For Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, funds were included to continue the replacement of the carrier pier in time for the arrival of the USS Nimitz in late 2010, when it will undergo a maintenance period in the yard’s drydock until 2012. 

The appropriations bill also represents another significant boost for the Veterans Administration, Rep. Dicks said.  In three years, Congress will have increased veterans health care and benefits funding by 58 percent, providing America’s veterans with better access to the healthcare that they need with shorter waiting times for health care and benefits, he said.

The legislation provides funding for the following construction projects at Washington bases for Fiscal Year 2010:

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