Associated Press Writer
The U.S. Senate approved a package of military construction projects this week that includes $23.7 million for a powertrain maintenance facility, which would help the depot repair and overhaul reciprocating engines.
At the urging of Alabama lawmakers, who have lobbied for the facility for years, President Bush included the request in February as part of his $2.4 trillion budget. So far, the money has survived the congressional hurdles and now faces a conference with House negotiators.
The new money, which would be dished out the same year the Pentagon will develop a list of bases to close, doesn’t guarantee survival of the depot, but supporters say they’re optimistic.
“It’ll give us the tools to do what we do more quickly, efficiently and get those tanks back out to the soldiers,” Sherri Sumners, president of Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday.
Fort McClellan in Alabama was closed in the last round of closings in 1995, and construction money for it was eliminated years earlier.
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, a Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said the state would receive $98 million overall in construction projects for 2005.
Among them are $16.5 million for an aircraft maintenance hangar at Fort Rucker, $19.6 million for the next phase of the Missile Defense Agency’s Von Braun Complex at Redstone Arsenal, and a combined $19.7 million for Army National Guard readiness centers in Centreville, Clanton and Oneonta.