Kennedy Votes In Support Of Military Construction And Veteran Affairs Bill, Including Funds For Naval Underwater Warfare Center

Washington – Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy included $9.9 million for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center’s unmanned Anti-Submarine Warfare Facility as part of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives with overwhelming support today.  This funding would assist in the renovation and modernization of NUWC’s antisubmarine warfare facilities, so that Newport can continue to be on the cutting-edge of Naval technology.  The legislation also seeks to fund the critical program in healthcare, housing and education for the Department of Veterans Affairs and would allocate funding for military housing and quality of life programs for our service members and their families.

“This bill would provide essential relief for America’s veterans and military families who have made enormous sacrifices for our nation,” says Kennedy, a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee.  “With recent studies that indicate more than one in five returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental illness, this legislation funds $3.8 billion for mental health services and $584 million for substance abuse programs in the Veterans Administration; funding and treatment we owe to our brave men and women of our armed forces,” adds Kennedy.

In total, the bill would afford our nation’s veterans with $72.7 billion in discretionary spending for the VA, $3.4 billion more than the President’s request and a 9 percent boost from last year’s levels.  $300 million was included to address the backlog in non-recurring maintenance of VA medical facilities and $568 million was added to increase enrollment of Priority 8 veterans by 10 percent.  To assist our wounded warriors, $500 million would be appropriated for medical and prosthetic research, including funding to advance programs at the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine at the Providence VA Medical Center and Brown University.