PNC :: House Takes Another Step In Process of Approval for $737M In Buildup Spending For Guam

PNC :: House Takes Another Step In Process of Approval for $737M In Buildup Spending For Guam

Saturday, 12 December 2009

Guam - The U.S. House overnight in Washington approved the conference report for a bill that contains $737.6 million dollars in spending for military construction projects on Guam.

The conference report is for H.R. 3288 which is the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2010. Approval of the conference report nearly completes Congress’s work on appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2010.

According to a release from Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, the measure includes $737,654,000 for Guam in military construction funding for fiscal year 2010. That is the full amount authorized by the Congress in Public Law 111-84, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

The legislation also contains $49 million in Defense Access Roads funding which will be transferred to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and will help to reduce congestion and chokepoints on several roads and at several intersections on Guam.

There is also $30 million for the construction of a new Guam National Guard Readiness Center which will enable the Guam National Guard to continue to grow and modernize.

And the bill has an additional $259 million for the first phase of construction of a new Naval Hospital in Agana Heights.

The release quotes Congresswoman Bordallo as saying that the approval means that "the military build-up on Guam is now moving from the planning to the implementation phase" and the funding "will bring economic activity and create jobs for our local workforce."