The House passed a defense authorization bill Tuesday that includes nearly $155 million for four projects at Fort Gordon.
Three of the projects are related to the installation’s heightened role as the Army’s center of cybersecurity, and the fourth is for a medical clinic to serve the added personnel.
The Pentagon requested the $90 million for the CYBER Protection Team Operations Facility and the $25 million for replacement of the medical clinic. However, it didn’t ask for two other projects that the House
added: $29 million for an Access Control Point or gate to alleviate traffic and $10 million for a Company Operations Facility.
The Senate must agree with the House totals or the two chambers will have to negotiate a compromise to pass something for the president to sign.
Getting that signature is not certain.
At the same time Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a defense spending bill that uses about $18 billion from the war fund for various base projects championed by members of Congress. It also adds 52,000 troops.
The White House has threatened a veto, warning that use of the war fund was either an accounting gimmick or designed to leave the military overseas with no money in coming months.
“It raids war funds in a time of war, when we have men and women deployed in operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.
Each project must be both authorized in the one bill and appropriated in the other.
Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said he worked with the Appropriations and the Armed Services Committees to keep funding flowing to Fort Gordon.
“By supporting this years’ (defense authorization bill) and military-construction appropriations bill, I hope to ensure that our soldiers are fully equipped with the resources they need and deserve to defend our great nation,” he said.
Besides Fort Gordon, the appropriations bill contains money for projects at other Georgia installations, including modernizing and replacing aging hangars at Hunter Army Airfield, a training range at Fort Stewart, a drone facility at Fort Benning and a helicopter maintenance hangar at Moody Air Force Base.
“As warfare continues to modernize, our tools to fight must continue to evolve as well,” Allen said. “We are very fortunate to have Fort Gordon in the Augusta area, and Fort Gordon is leading the way in Army cyber warfare.”
