A military budget bill just passed by Congress has $25 million for the V.I. Army National Guard (VING) to build a new Joint Force Headquarters readiness center on St. Croix, according to Delegate Donna Christensen’s office.
The funding is in the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week and the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent Wednesday morning.
Now it is on its way to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature. The $725 billion federal defense authorization act funds most direct U.S. military activities, but not military support such as the departments of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.
The act provides military construction funds to begin the project, which is currently still in its design phase. A federal construction contract is expected to be awarded by Jan. 2012, according to a statement from Christensen’s office.
Christensen credited the V.I. Army National Guard and Air National Guard for earning the funds, saying it was “their excellent planning and strategic advocacy which has resulted in this high level of funding that will begin to see this and other projects, which are vital to their mission, through to fruition.”
