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Senator Blunt Secures Funding for Missouri Military Installations

From the office of Senator Roy Blunt

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations, today announced that several defense priorities he championed have been included in the omnibus appropriations bill.

“The federal government’s first responsibility is to protect the nation,” Blunt said. “To that end, this legislation funds key defense priorities at Whiteman, Rosecrans, Fort Leonard Wood, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and Missouri National Guard installations across the state. These investments will ensure that we maintain the most well-trained, well-equipped fighting force in the world. It is incumbent upon the president, however, to outline a clear, comprehensive strategy that will enable our military and intelligence personnel to take on the terrorist threat we face, and to keep America safe.”

Blunt Provisions Included in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill:

• Super Hornets – The bill provides an additional $1 billion for seven EA-18G Growlers and five F-18E/F Super Hornets manufactured in St. Louis, Mo. After hearing testimony from Admiral Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, during an annual defense appropriations hearing, Blunt made the case that the additional aircraft will meet the US Navy’s tactical aviation shortfalls and larger joint requirements for additional airborne electronic attack capability.
• Consolidated Stealth and Nuclear Alert Facility – The bill includes $29.5 million for the construction of a 79,000 square-foot “Consolidated Stealth and Nuclear Alert Facility” at Whiteman Air Force Base. Sponsored by Blunt, these funds will enhance the Air Force’s strategic stealth bomber capability and preserve our deterrence capability at home and abroad.
• C-130 Aircraft – Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Mo. is the nation’s premier Air Guard training center for Advanced Airlift Tactical Training. The bill provides an additional $128.2 million for C-130 aircraft upgrades that meet Air National Guard intra-theater airlift mobility requirements.
• Tomahawk Missile Systems – The bill provides an additional $30 million for Tomahawk missile systems to meet our nation’s minimum sustainment rate needs for long-range, all-weather subsonic cruise missile capabilities.
• Army National Guard Cyber Protection Teams – Last week, the Defense Department announced that Missouri was selected as one of 29 states to take on additional cyber units tasked to identify and mitigate emerging cyber threats to the homeland. The bill provides an additional $7.5 million to support Army National Guard Cyber Protection Teams. The National Guard Bureau has recognized the Missouri Cyber Team as an exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable team.  In 2014 and 2015, NGB requested the Cyber Team to assist other National Guard participating teams as mentors at the annual national Cyber Shield exercise. The Missouri Cyber Team also serves as a resource to NGB in planning its annual national Cyber Shield exercise.
• National Trauma Clinical Research Network – The University of Missouri’s Department of Surgery continues to make impressive strides in trauma clinical research through the study of relevant military fields of care and next generation research priorities. These efforts continue to save lives, reduce disability, and decrease the economic burden of traumatic injury. The bill urges the Department of Defense to advance the National Trauma Clinical Research Network and “encourages the Department to allocate sufficient resources for the program in future budget submission.”