Watertown Daily Times - House Version of Defense Spending Bill Includes Fort Drum Items

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By Gordon Block

A $612 billion version of the National Defense Authorization bill that cleared the House of Representatives includes multiple pieces of funding aimed at Fort Drum.

Among those is $19 million for a new noncommissioned officer academy on post, and $30 million to plan an East Coast missile site that could be located at the post.

Though military officials have expressed skepticism about the cost and effectiveness of a third missile site to go with those in Alaska and California, Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said adding a new missile site was important due to potential threats from North Korea and Iran.

"The United States must be ready ---- not just to retaliate ---- but to actually stop an attack," she said in a statement.

No decision has been made about if or where such a site would be built.

An amendment by Ms. Stefanik and John Fleming, R-La., requires the Department of Defense to further study cuts to the size of the force.

"We are asking our brave servicemen and women to do more with less over and over again," she said in a statement. "Representing such a high operational tempo unit, I am truly concerned about long-term impacts on force structure due the budget cap constraints, on what the Department of Defense referred to as severe deployment demands."

Ms. Stefanik also cleared an amendment that extends the eligibility of communities to use the Historically Underutilized Business Zone program, which aids communities affected by the Base Realignment and Closure process.

One of the most contested amendments was one from Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., that would prevent young immigrants without permanent legal status from joining the military, counteracting a proposal opening up slots that cleared the House Armed Services Committee.

The House approved Mr. Brooks's amendment 221-202.

Ms. Stefanik was one of 20 Republicans to go against Mr. Brooks. Other area Republicans joining Ms. Stefanik supporting expanded access for non-legal immigrants include Reps. John Katko, R-Camillus, Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook and Richard Hanna, R-Syracuse.

Tom Flanagin, a spokesman for Ms. Stefanik, said she opposed Mr. Brooks's amendment because it "put politics before our national security."

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