House passes Defense Authorization Act, includes key provisions for Utah

WASHINGTON– The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 on a vote of 322-96. The legislation includes key provisions for Utah military installations and the future operations of national defense.The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $690 billion for the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.”Utah is home to some of the most preeminent military personnel and national defense systems in the country,” says 1st District Congressman Rob Bishop, R-Utah. “I am pleased that funding has been authorized in this legislation to ensure the continued operation of many of the facilities and programs located in Utah that play a critical role in our national defense capabilities, including the large scale solid rocket motor industrial base.” The NDAA is one of the primary ways that Congress fulfills its constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense.Specifically, the NDAA for FY2012 authorizes $553 billion for the Department of Defense’s base budget, $119 billion for overseas contingency operations, and $18 billion for the Department of Energy’s atomic energy defense programs to: · Ensure that troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the globe have the resources and technology necessary to successfully complete their missions and return home;· Provide military personnel and their families with the utmost support in return for the many sacrifices they make to ensure the safety and security of the country;· Invest in cutting edge technology and leading national defense capabilities necessary to protect the United States from current and future threats;· Mandate fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability within the Department of Defense; and· Incentivize competition for funding within Department of Defense requirements. The NDAA authorizes the following Utah specific provisions:· Creation of a national rocket propulsion strategy– in light of the Administration’s plans to cancel constellation, this provision will require the President to create a National Rocket Propulsion Strategy that preserves the solid rocket motor industrial base, and to report it to Congress. · Transfer of 2.7 acres of land to Ogden Redevelopment Corporation from former Defense Depot Ogden, for further economic development· U.S. Army, Dugway Proving Grounds — Life Sciences Test Addition. Provides needed addition to existing facilities that conduct vital biological and chemical defensive testing to help ensure that our military personnel remain safe on the battlefield and elsewhere against emerging chem-bio threats. · Utah National Guard, Camp Williams– Multi-Purpose Machine Gun Range· Hill Air Force Base– F-22 System Support Facility· Hill Air Force Base– F-35 Additions and Alterations (ADAL) Hangar· Camp Williams– Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) Data Center (Phase 3)

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