The provision is part of more than $12 billion the bill allocates for military construction.
Because of the Base Realignment and Closure process, the Army's decision to bring troops stationed overseas back to U.S. posts and other measures, the soldier population at Fort Bliss is expected to grow by nearly 20,000 between 2005 and 2011. The bill also would provide $71 million for construction at White Sands Missile Range, which will receive a combat engineering battalion at the end of 2008.
The bill passed on a 92-1 vote, with only Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., voting against it. A conference committee will settle differences with the House version before the bill goes to President Bush for his signature. The bill also includes large spending increases for veterans' health care.
"Fort Bliss plays a key role in the war on terror, and this funding will help improve the training and quality of life of our servicemen and women," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, the ranking member on the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. "Those stationed at Fort Bliss and their families deserve to have the best housing and facilities, and this funding will help provide what they need."
Said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, "The bill includes substantial funding to increase Fort Bliss infrastructure in preparation for the influx of additional troops and their families as a result of BRAC. It is critical that Congress continue working to meet the funding needs of those who defend our freedom, and I will continue fighting on behalf of Texas military installations like Fort Bliss."
Hutchison said the bill also contains $147.5 million for the president's Grow the Force initiative, "which will support even more soldiers at Fort Bliss."
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