Iowa Congressman

ianglogo

Share This Page Slashdot Del.icio.us Google Digg Reddit Newsvine Furl Yahoo Facebook

Washington, Jun 1 - Iowa Congressman Tom Latham announced late Thursday that the U.S. House of Representatives cleared appropriations legislation that contains federal funding for new Iowa National Guard training facilities at Camp Dodge.

The funding is part of the FY 2013 Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill.  As Iowa’s only member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Latham worked with House leadership and colleagues on the committee to pave the way for consideration of the bill by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

The legislation would provide $3 million to add an enhanced, modern training course to existing facilities at Camp Dodge, which is located in Johnston.  The new training course will be used to train individual soldiers, squads, and platoons on tasks necessary to operate within a built-up urban area. It will provide squad and platoon-size units with a facility to train and evaluate urban operations tasks.

In addition to voting in favor of final passage of the legislation on Thursday evening, Congressman Latham also helped the legislation clear the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month.

“The Iowa National Guard has done an incredible job of keeping us safe and protecting the cause of freedom,” Congressman Latham said. “The men and women of the National Guard have made profound sacrifices for their fellow Americans that are nothing short of heroic.  That’s why we have to make sure they have only the best when it comes to training equipment and facilities.  Their job is too important for anything less.  I’m proud to have supported this legislation on the Appropriations Committee and on the House floor for final passage.”