{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-announces-missouri-priorities-included-in-defense-military-construction-and-va-funding-bills", "Blunt Announces Missouri Priorities Included in Defense, Military Construction & VA Funding Bills", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member\r\nof the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today announced that\r\nseveral key Missouri and national priorities were included in the FY2021\r\nDefense and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding bills. The bills are part of the larger government funding package that Congress is expected to consider shortly.   Congress has an obligation to ensure our nation's service\r\nmembers have the support they need to carry out their missions and keep\r\nAmericans safe, said Blunt. This bill prioritizes resources to support the\r\nimportant role that Missouri's defense installations play in our national\r\nsecurity, including funding for the B-21 that will be based at Whiteman Air\r\nForce Base, further construction of the new National Geospatial-Intelligence\r\nAgency West headquarters in St. Louis, and additional funding for the new hospital\r\nat Fort Leonard Wood. The bill also begins a new program to establish\r\npartnerships between the Department of Veterans Affairs and public research\r\nuniversities to further the discovery and application of precision medicine\r\ntherapies. I'm hopeful that the University of Missouri's NextGen Precision\r\nHealth Initiative will become part of that program. From keeping our promises\r\nto America's veterans, to maintaining the U.S. military's strategic edge, to\r\nresponding to the evolving threats we face, this bill directs resources to\r\nwhere they are critically needed and I look forward to getting it to the\r\npresident's desk. Following Are Key Blunt-Backed Missouri and National\r\nPriorities Included in the Defense and Military Construction and Veterans\r\nAffairs Funding Legislation: \r\nMilitary Pay Raise: The legislation\r\nprovides a military pay raise of 3%.   \r\nFort Leonard Wood: The bill includes: o\r\n$40 million in additional funding for further\r\nconstruction of a new hospital at Fort Leonard Wood, which will replace the\r\ncurrent General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital. In June 2020, Blunt celebrated\r\nthe groundbreaking for the new hospital. (these two will be sub-bullets, but\r\nit's too difficult to do in this format) o\r\n$10 million in additional research funding for\r\nadvanced technology for maneuver support and protection to directly benefit the\r\ntraining at Fort Leonard Wood. o\r\n$1.3 million in additional funding for\r\noperational energy research that will be conducted at Fort Leonard Wood.  \r\n \r\nNGA St. Louis: The bill provides full\r\nfunding of $119 million for further construction of the new National\r\nGeospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West headquarters in North St. Louis. The\r\nbill also provides $10 million that can be used to support the rapidly evolving\r\ngeospatial intelligence mission in St. Louis. In November 2019, Blunt attended\r\nthe groundbreaking ceremony and has long led efforts to ensure the resources\r\nare in place to complete the construction of the NGA West headquarters.   \r\nRosecrans Air National Guard Base: The\r\nlegislation provides nearly $265.6 million in funding for C-130H modernization, such as\r\npropellers and engines, to meet Air National Guard intra-theater airlift\r\nmobility requirements. Rosecrans Air National Guard Base is the nation's\r\npremier Air National Guard training center for Advanced Airlift Tactical\r\nTraining.   \r\nWhiteman Air Force Base: The measure\r\nprovides robust resources for the B-2 program and the A-10 wing replacement\r\nprogram. In addition, the bill provides nearly $2.85 billion in research funding for the B-21, a next\r\ngeneration Air Force bomber that is currently under development. In March 2019,\r\nthe U.S. Air Force announced\r\nthat Whiteman Air Force Base will be the second base to receive the B-21\r\nbomber, which will replace the B-2 beginning in the mid-2030's.   \r\nInnovative Veteran Research: The\r\nlegislation includes language to establish a five-year, $50 million Department\r\nof Veterans Affairs research partnership program with public research\r\nuniversities to further the discovery and application of precision medicine\r\ntherapies. The University of Missouri's NextGen Precision Health Initiative\r\nwill be eligible to apply for the program.   \r\nF-15EX: The bill includes funding for 12\r\nF-15EX aircraft, which are manufactured in St. Louis, Mo., to meet the U.S. Air\r\nForce's air superiority needs.   \r\nSuper Hornets: The legislation provides\r\nfunding for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, which are manufactured in St. Louis, to meet the\r\nU.S. Navy's tactical aviation shortfall. The legislation also includes $137 million in additional\r\nfunding to fulfill one of the U.S. Navy's top unfunded requests for Super\r\nHornet spare engines to improve mission readiness.   \r\nDefense Community Infrastructure Pilot\r\nProgram (DCIP): The measure includes $60 million in funding for DCIP infrastructure\r\nprojects. Fort Leonard Wood has previously benefited from the DCIP program,\r\nwhich aims to improve the quality of life for service members and their\r\nfamilies.   \r\nLake City Army Ammunition Plant: The\r\nmeasure includes increased funding for Army industrial facilities. Blunt has long\r\nchampioned additional funding, including over $177 million in additional\r\nfunding in the past, to provide critical support to modernize facilities like\r\nLake City Army Ammunition Plant near Independence, Mo.   \r\nU.S. Navy MQ-25: The bill provides robust\r\nfunding for the U.S. Navy MQ-25 program. In 2018, the U.S. Navy awarded\r\nBoeing the contract for the MQ-25, an unmanned aircraft that would embark on a\r\ncarrier to conduct aerial refueling. Boeing subsequently announced that the\r\nMQ-25 will be built in St. Louis.   \r\nU.S. Air Force T-7: The legislation\r\nincludes strong funding for the U.S. Air Force T-7 program. The T-7 trainer,\r\nwhich was designed in St. Louis and will be built\r\nthere, is a two-seat trainer aircraft that would replace the decades-old T-38\r\ntrainer currently in use by the U.S. Air Force.   \r\nMunitions and Defense Equipment: The bill\r\nincludes additional procurement funding for critical defense needs, such as\r\nF-35 battery development and modernized body armor, along with broad support\r\nfor munition requests, such as JDAMs, Small Diameter Bombs, and Tomahawk\r\nmissiles, all of which have production operations in Missouri.    \r\nResearch Investments: The measure\r\nprovides research funding for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of\r\nDefense. This funding will support research and development initiatives at the\r\nUniversity of Missouri, Missouri State University, and among defense industry\r\nleaders across the state. The bill also provides increased funding to continue\r\ngroundbreaking medical research, which will save lives, reduce disability, and\r\ndecrease the economic burden of traumatic injury.   \r\nImpact Aid: The bill includes $70 million in additional\r\nfunding for Impact Aid assistance to benefit Whiteman and Fort Leonard Wood\r\narea schools. Department of Defense Supplemental Impact Aid Assistance is\r\ncritical to local school districts impacted by the presence of federally-owned\r\nland.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-announces-missouri-priorities-included-in-defense-military-construction-and-va-funding-bills"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8608400821685791, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}