U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its subcommittee on defense, voted Thursday to pass a comprehensive appropriations package containing all 12 Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) spending bills and roughly $14 billion in emergency aid to support humanitarian, security, and economic assistance for Ukraine and our Central European partners following the Russian invasion. The package was passed in the Senate by a vote of 68-31. The package was passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature.
“I am very pleased that this package contains a significant increase of $42 billion to our defense budget to help develop, maintain, and equip our military forces and intelligence community. Throughout this appropriations process, I have insisted upon dollar-for-dollar parity for defense and non-defense increases. We have achieved that goal. Our men and women in uniform must maintain an advantage over our adversaries, and Alabama plays a significant role in that effort. I have no doubt that this legislation will result in long-term benefits for our country. Alabama has for many decades played an important role in national defense, and I look forward to what lies ahead for our great state. The security of the nation must always be our number one priority,”said Senator Shelby.
The FY22 omnibus appropriations package provides $782 billion for the Department of Defense and other defense functions – $30 billion more than President Biden’s budget request, $4 billion more than the level authorized in the FY22 NDAA, and nearly $42 billion more than FY21.
The package contains the following defense-related funding provisions impacting Alabama:
Impacting the Wiregrass:
- $1.3 billion for flight training at Fort Rucker.
- $395 million for Future Vertical Lift research, which will accelerate the development of helicopters flown at Fort Rucker, and an additional $77 million to accelerate the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft.
- $200 million for United States Coast Guard MH-60T sustainment.
- $95 million to upgrade the MH-60 series helicopters.
- $380 million for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors.
- $193 million for Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGMs).
- $710 million for Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSMs) and $161 million for Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASMs).
- $226 million for Hellfire missiles, which are made in Troy.
- $130 million for Javelin missiles for the Navy, Air Force, and Army.
Impacting North Alabama:
- Army Research – $14.5 billion for continued investment in transformational technologies to address modern and future Army warfighting needs.
- Missile Defense – $10.3 billion, an increase of $1.42 billion, for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) which is located in Huntsville, to ensure support for urgent MDA priorities such as space sensors, ballistic missile defense, and cybersecurity efforts.
- Hypersonic weapons – fully funds Army hypersonic research, as well as an additional $50 million to develop a common hypersonic glide body and $77 million towards high energy laser development.
- $55 million military construction project building a Propulsion Systems Lab at Redstone Arsenal.
- $2.6 billion for Space Launch System, of which $600 million is for concurrent Block 1B development, which is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
- $110 million for nuclear thermal propulsion, which benefits Marshall Space Flight Center.
- $570 million for FBI construction at Redstone Arsenal, which supports ongoing and growing efforts in Huntsville.
Impacting the Birmingham Area:
- $43 million for the Secret Service’s National Computer Forensics Institute, located in Hoover, to expand training opportunities for state and local law enforcement and legal and judicial professionals in computer forensics and cyber investigations.
Impacting Anniston:
- $117 million for Hydra rockets, which are built in Anniston and fired from Army and Marine Corps helicopters.
- Funding for Army vehicles overhauled and maintained at Anniston Army Depot (ANAD), including:
o $1.15 billion to continue upgrading and modernizing the M1 Abrams tanks;
o $1.1 billion for Stryker vehicle upgrades;
o $663 million for Paladin Integrated Management artillery vehicles; and
o $132 million for a Demilitarization Facility at Anniston Army Depot.
- $67.5 million for Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Center for Domestic Preparedness.
Impacting Auburn:
- $15 million for the Department of Homeland Security’s Explosive Detection Canine Program, which was developed in collaboration with Auburn University.
Impacting the Mobile Area:
- $260 million for one additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) and an additional $330 million one additional Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS). The EMS or “hospital ship,” includes an intensive care unit and other healthcare accommodations, while maintaining most of the original mission requirements.
- $67 million for the Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter program.
- $6 million for Cyber Compliance Upgrades to Critical Training Center Simulators and Trainers, including the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama.
Shelby also voted to pass a comprehensive appropriations package containing all 12 Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) spending bills, which includes significant funding investments for the Mobile area. The legislation was passed in the Senate by a vote of 68-31. The package was passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature. The legislation contains a total of $1.146 billion in funding for the Mobile area.
“Throughout every appropriations process, I have worked diligently to create the conditions for growth and success throughout the state of Alabama, and that certainly includes Mobile,” said Senator Shelby. “I am very proud to announce that this package includes more than $1 billion in funding for the Mobile area, with $300 million for improvements to the Port and the airport. This is great news for our Gulf Coast. South Alabama stands to benefit immensely from these investments. Mobile has a lot of potential, and this funding will improve upon its existing infrastructure to transform our coast and the entire state.”
The package contains the following provisions impacting the Mobile area:
Port of Mobile and Mobile Downtown Airport:
- $100 million for improvements to the Mobile Downtown Airport, including funding to purchase land, conduct surveys, and renovate and relocate on–site facilities.
- $132.7 million for improvements to the Port of Mobile, including for the design and construction of docks, wharves, and piers, as well as for land acquisition and site development.
- $67.3 million for freight and intermodal rail infrastructure improvements at the Port of Mobile and the Montgomery inland intermodal transfer facility.
Army Corps of Engineers:
- $65 million to support dredging of the Port of Mobile and multiple inland and intercostal waterways throughout the state of Alabama.
- $50 million for the operations and maintenance of Donor and Energy Transfer Ports, which benefits the Port of Mobile.
- Includes language to encourage the Army Corps of Engineers to examine beneficial uses of dredged material in Mobile Bay.
Shipbuilding:
- $330 million for one additional Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS). The EMS or “hospital ship,” includes an intensive care unit and other healthcare accommodations, while maintaining most of the original mission requirements.
- $260 million for one additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF).
University of South Alabama Medical Science Building:
- $60 million for construction of a medical science building at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
U.S. Coast Guard:
- $67 million for the Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter program.
- $6 million for Cyber Compliance Upgrades to Critical Training Center Simulators and Trainers, including Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama.
Fisheries:
- $5 million to ensure successful implementation of NOAA’s “Reef Fish Amendment 50,” which delegates the federal management of red snapper to the Gulf Coast states, including language delaying state specific recalibration until 2023.
- $3 million to support implementation of electronic logbooks for federally permitted Gulf Coast charter-fishermen.
U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby also applauded Senate passage of a comprehensive appropriations package containing all 12 Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) spending bills, which passed by a vote of 68-31 and includes $570 million for FBI construction at Redstone Arsenal. The package was passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature.
“Growing the FBI’s presence in Huntsville has been a priority of mine for quite some time, and I am proud to have helped bring it to fruition,” said Senator Shelby. “This new construction will further solidify Redstone Arsenal’s position as one of the biggest and most powerful bases throughout the country and will build on the extraordinary workforce and sophisticated mission. Huntsville’s growing defense industry has been extremely beneficial for the nation, and this FBI funding seeks to build upon that momentum.”
Since FY19, Senator Shelby has proactively led efforts to promote the construction of new FBI buildings in Huntsville and increased flow of FBI staff to Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal complex. Starting in 2006, Senator Shelby began prioritizing FBI funding with the creation of the FBI Laboratory’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC). From 2006 to 2018, he successfully funded $625.3 million for the FBI through his work on the Senate Appropriations Committee. During his time as Appropriations Committee Chairman, Senator Shelby secured $332.5 million for FBI construction in FY19, $435 million in FY20, and $514.2 million in FY21. With the additional resources secured in the FY22 funding package, more than $2.48 billion has been appropriated for this expansion project.
