WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — It is kind of like Congress' Christmas present to Virginia.
The two new $1.37 trillion spending bills passed by the Senate Thursday includes over $13 billion in Virginia shipbuilding priorities.
They include $2.27 billion for the block-buy on aircraft carriers, the future USS Enterprise CVN-80, and the as-yet-unnamed CVN-81, both to be constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Additionally, the bills include $650 million for the mid-life overhaul and nuclear refueling of the USS Harry S. Truman CVN-75, also to be conducted at Newport News Shipbuilding.
And, that's not all.
The bills include $8.32 billion for the construction of two Virginia Class submarines and $1.82 billion for the start-up of the new Columbia Class submarine program.
Both of those endeavors will be completed by Newport News Shipbuilding in partnership with General Dynamic Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut.
In a statement, Newport News Shipbuilding told 13News Now:
"We are very pleased with the strong Congressional support of shipbuilding. This funding provides stability to our workforce and our nationwide supplier base."
"I think for shipbuilders, this legislation is great news in terms of predictability, great news in terms of the fact that there is not going to be any kind of government shutdown. So, all good news," Virginia Senator Mark Warner said in an interview.
Additionally, the spending bills provide:
- Army Corps of Engineers: Provides $7.65 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, $651.5 million above FY 2019, including $2.5 million for the Norfolk Harbor Widening and Deepening project.
- Nearly $500 million in funding for 11 military construction projects across the Commonwealth, including:
- Fort Belvoir: Provides $60 million for a Secure Operations and Administration Facility.
- Joint Base Langley-Eustis: Provides $55 million for an Advanced Individual Training Barracks Complex.
- Naval Station Norfolk: Provides $79.1 million for a Mariner Skills Training Center.
- Portsmouth Shipyard: Provides $48.9 million for Dry Dock Flood Protection improvements.
- Quantico: Provides $70 million for a Wargaming Center.
- Dam Neck Annex: Provides $12.7 million for a SOF Demolition Training Compound Expansion.
- Defense Distribution Depot Richmond: Provides $98.8 million for an Operations Center.
- Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story: Provides $32.6 million for the construction of a SOF Operations Support Facility and $13 million for a SOF Training Facility.
- Pentagon: Provides $8.6 million for a backup generator and $20.1 million for a control tower and fire station.
For veterans, the bills provide $91.9 billion in funding for the VA, an increase of $5.4 billion above FY19. The bill would increase funding to several Veteran Health Administration priority areas, including $1.5 billion for electronic health record modernization, $9.4 billion to increase mental health services for veterans and $221.7 million for suicide prevention programs.
It includes $1.9 billion for homelessness programs such as $380 million for the Supportive Services for Veterans and Families program and $408.3 million for the Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program, which assists homeless veterans.
Also for veterans on the issue of exposure to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, the bills provide $153.6 million to fund the VA's implementation of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, legislation sponsored by the Senators and signed into law to get veterans benefits for illnesses related to toxic herbicide Agent Orange, including those who were stationed on ships off the Vietnamese coast, also known as Blue Water Navy veterans.
The bill also includes language to force the Administration to explain the delay in expanding the presumptive list, a cost estimate for adding new diseases, and the date the VA plans to implement the decision. This week, Sen. Warner spoke on the Senate floor urging the Trump Administration to reverse its decision to block an expansion of approved Agent Orange-related conditions that qualify a veteran for benefits.
For Gold Star Families, the legislation corrects one of the many unintended consequences of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – that, among other things, treats military and VA survivor benefits as trusts or estates, subjecting the benefits of many military families to a much higher tax rate. The Senators introduced legislation earlier this year to make sure surviving families aren't unfairly penalized, and pay back those families that had to incur this unjust tax hike.
Finally, for Federal employees and military personnel, the bills provide a 3.1 percent pay raise.