{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9B6AC665-90AF-4CB9-BC0A-304359058322", "Portman and Brown Announce More Than $1.1 Billion Authorization for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Defense Bill Heading to President's Desk", "2016-12-08", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "OH", "Rob Portman", "P000449", "www.portman.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the Fiscal Year 2017\u00a0National Defense Authorization Act\u00a0(NDAA) passed by Congress authorizes $12.6 million to consolidate the operations of two active Entry Control Points (ECPs) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). This consolidation would improve security and traffic flow at the base. The NDAA also authorizes $14.4 million for facilities upgrades, equipment installation, and other projects that increase energy efficiency and approximately $1.1 billion for Air Force Research and Development projects and programs run out of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at WPAFB.\r\n\u201cI am pleased to support this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act, which will ensure our military has the tools and resources it needs to keep America safe,\u201d said Portman.\u00a0 In particular, this bill will provide additional resources to help protect and improve Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, ensuring that it remains a national leader in delivering world-class national security capabilities to our men and women in uniform.\u201d\r\n\u201cWright-Patterson Air Force Base is critical to our nation\u2019s military and to southwest Ohio\u2019s economy,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThese provisions are an important step in ensuring that Wright-Patterson has the funding needed to upgrade its facility, enhance safety, and bolster the important research being done on base. We will continue working with our Senate colleagues to maintain our commitment to Wright-Patterson.\u201d\r\nNOTE: Senator Portman has long been an advocate for strengthening the research and development capabilities at WPAFB and solidifying its reputation as a national leader in aerospace and defense research, development, and education. In the FY 2016 NDAA, Portman secured a provision\u00a0along with Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH-10) to expand the Air Force Institute of Technology\u2019s (AFIT) authority to enroll defense industry civilians in AFIT. The provision is working to strengthen AFIT by bringing in the best and brightest in the defense industry. In the FY 2015 NDAA, Senator Portman and Rep. Turner secured language\u00a0increasing AFRL hiring authority was included in the NDAA. The provision gave AFRL increased authority to hire science, technology, engineering, and math bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree students directly into the lab.\r\n###", 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.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=9B6AC665-90AF-4CB9-BC0A-304359058322"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.647834898903966, "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"}