SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE FINAL CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF $24 MILLION FOR NEW YORK ARMY NATIONAL GUARD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WILL BUILD STATE-OF-THE-ART MAINTENANCE SHOP ON BASE

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that a $24 million construction project in Stormville, NY, for the New York Army National Guard has passed both chambers of Congress as part of the  National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 and now heads to President Obama to be signed into law. Specifically, the $24 million federal investment would allow the construction of a new maintenance shop to provide field and sustainment maintenance for vehicles and equipment supported by this shop for Transformational Army National Guard units. Current maintenance facilities located at nearby Camp Smith, dating from the 1940's, are inadequate and do not support the work of the New York Army National Guard. The project will create over 50 fulltime local construction jobs for two years and once completed the facility will be home to over 75 full time employees.

"New York's Army National Guard has some great news before the holidays, with the delivery of funding for this construction work in Stormville," said  Senator Schumer. "New York's Army National Guard is as critical to the Hudson Valley's economy as it is to our national security, and this key military construction investment will help keep this station in line as we look to the future. This construction project will create a central location for the equipment maintenance required for New York's Guard to achieve readiness standards. I am pleased that this military construction bill has cleared several key hurdles in the Senate, and I will fight tooth and nail to ensure that this project becomes a reality."

"This is a great investment for New York's Army National Guard to help upgrade our military facilities and provide better resources for our Soldiers, while creating new construction jobs," said  Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "When we equip our National Guard bases with the resources they need, we can strengthen our military readiness and the local economy."

Specifically, this funding will support the construction of a specially designed Combined Support Maintenance Shop facility that will include vehicle maintenance bays to maintain over 1,700 wheeled and tracked vehicles from throughout the New York Army National Guard, including the 42 ^nd Infantry Division, a Combat Aviation Brigade, the 153 ^rd Troop Command, and 369 ^thSustainment Brigade.

Federal defense spending must be authorized before it can be appropriated. The House of Representatives approved the NDAA conference report last night, with the Senate voting for its approval today.  

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