HYDE-SMITH VOTES FOR BILL DIRECTING $53M TO MISS. FOR MILITARY INSTALLATION IMPROVEMENTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, today voted for final passage of a funding measure that will direct more than $53 million in FY2024 military construction dollars to installations in Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith said Mississippi facilities will benefit from the additional $2.0 billion over the President budget that Congress agreed in the FY2024 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Bill for military construction, with a focus on investments on the Pacific theater, barracks, and other quality-of-life projects. The Senate approved the bill as part of a six-bill package that now heads to the President to be signed into law.
“Our final MilCon-VA Appropriations Bill invests in improving conditions for the men and women serving in our armed forces. It will also work to serve our veterans and their families by fully funding veterans’ health care programs,” Hyde-Smith said. “For the military installations in Mississippi, this bill funds important projects that will improve their operational efficiency.”
Hyde-Smith indicated that Keesler Air Force Base is among the locations that will benefit from $80 million appropriated for the Military Housing Privatization Initiative Restructure.
Other projects of interest to Mississippi in the FY2024 MilCon-VA Appropriations Bill include:
Military Construction
- Columbus Air Force Base
o $30.0 million to construct a T-7A Ground Based Training System Facility
o $9.5 million to construct a T-7A Unit Maintenance Training Facility
o $4.6 million to construct a T-7A Egress Shop
o $4.85 million to construct a T-7A Hush House Pad
- Keesler Air Force Base
o $1.96 million for Planning and Design-Air Traffic Control Tower
- Meridian
o $2.16 million for Planning and Design-Army Aviation Support Facility 3
Veterans Affairs
- $121 billion, a $2.3 billion increase over FY2023, to fully fund VA medical care.
- $342 million for VA rural health initiatives
- $715 million for VA opioid misuse prevention and treatment
- $77.0 million for the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which operates facilities in Gulfport and Washington, D.C.
- Protects the 2nd Amendment rights of veterans by preventing the VA from sending information to the FBI about veterans without a judge’s consent.
The FY2024 MilCon-VA Appropriations Bill complies with the statutory caps on discretionary funding established under the recently-enacted Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the debt limit bill.
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