U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Representative Michael McNulty announced that the Joint House-Senate conference committee has approved the FY 2006 Military Construction Appropriations Bill, including $25.5 million for projects benefiting the Capital Region.

"Now that we’ve successfully fought to keep Stratton Air National Guard Base and Watervliet Arsenal open through the BRAC process, we can focus on keeping the Capital Region’s bases at the forefront of our national defense efforts. Our guardsmen and reservists have been at the front line in our nation's war on terror around the world, and these men and women play a vital role in the local community. We must do everything we can to support them and ensure that they have the most up to date facilities available when they are called to duty.”

“The men and women of the National Guard are making sacrifices for our freedom every day – both here at home and overseas. This funding is a recognition of the heroic work they do every day and demonstrates a real commitment to ensuring they have the best equipment and training available. I am glad our colleagues in Congress agreed with us about how important this funding is,” Senator Clinton said.

Congressman Michael R. McNulty (D-Green Island) said, “Construction of these facilities is important to our national security, to the security of our State, and to our efforts to retain missions and jobs at the Stratton Air National Guard Base. The Navy Reserve Center in Glenville is expected to create 40 jobs and host hundreds of reserve and guard troops who will train at the facility on a regular basis and generate additional economic activity for Schenectady County. No one deserves these state-of-the-art facilities more than the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve, who have sacrificed so much for us and for our country.”

The following projects were approved by the conference committee:

Army National Guard - Readiness Center ($5.580 million)
The funding will go towards providing a readiness center addition, of permanent type construction, to serve the peace time missions of the assigned units and space for all personnel to perform necessary wartime missions as well.

Navy Reserve - Joint Reserve Center ($19.970 million)
The funding will go towards the construction of a new Armed Forces Reserve Center at the Schenectady County Airport to support Navy, Marine Corps and Army National Guard drilling reservists.

The FY 2006 Military Construction Appropriations Bill was approved by the Senate in September, and now having been released by the conference committee, must be approved by both chambers of Congress and sent to the President for his signature. Schumer and Clinton urged members of the Conference Committee to keep the funding for these projects in this year’s spending bill.

CONTACT:  Schumer Press Office  (202) 224-7433
                       Clinton Press Office  (212) 688-9559
                       McNulty Press Office  (202) 225-5076

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