A budget push from U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) seeks to require the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to report reconciliation legislation of $50.2 billion for military infrastructure improvements, among other items.
If accepted, their amendment (S. 3293) would require SASC to report legislation addressing modernization in shipbuilding, test ranges, and military equipment depots. Some $4 billion would also be tacked on for sustainment, restoration, and modernization of existing facilities for the Department of Defense at large, both at home and abroad. A previous attempt at attaching such legislation to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) was torpedoed — something the senators have chided Democrat colleagues over.
“President Biden’s defense budget proposal was woefully inadequate, and Senator Sanders’ and the Senate Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend budget continues these misguided efforts to shortchange national defense funding when we can least afford it,” Inhofe, Ranking Member of the SASC, said. “Our amendment provides an additional $50.2 billion for vital defense infrastructure that supports high-paying jobs in states across the country, improves the lives of Americans, especially our service members and their families, and makes our country safer and more secure. Senator Schumer didn’t allow a vote on this amendment during the infrastructure debate, but there’s no stopping amendments during vote-a-rama.”
The vast bulk of spending under the proposal would go to shipyards and shipbuilding, at $25 billion — something specifically meant to counter China’s growth in that area. Safety and sustainability updates to Army ammunition plants would get $2.5 billion, while the National Nuclear Security Administration’s facilities would gain $3.85 billion for deferred maintenance, modernization of R&D infrastructure and manufacturing, demolition of contaminated equipment, and new facilities. Additional construction projects for the military would be given a $2 billion handout.
As sites around the country continue to deal with the fallout from previous use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), however, the amendment would also offer $1.5 billion specifically for contamination cleanup. Even 5G would get its share of the billions on offer, with $2.5 billion presented to guarantee construction of 5G infrastructure at military bases in the U.S.