WASHINGTON — The $985 billion appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2020 would fund national security at $17 billion less than the White House requested.
As is, it would still mean good things for Hampton Roads, providing $10 billion that would have impacts on various defense priorities in this region.
Chief among them is $4.3 billion to build two Virginia class submarines and advanced procurement for a third sub. It would be the first time in the Virginia Class program's history that more than two at a time were undertaken at once.
It's all part of a unique partnership between Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat in Groton Connecticut where each shipyard contributes to each sub.
Virginia 2nd District Democrat Elaine Luria praised the measure in a release:
I'm proud to stand behind a funding bill that prioritizes our significant military and veteran presence in Hampton Roads.
But the so-called "minibus" bill to emerge from the Democrat-controlled House strongly limits the Pentagon's ability to transfer Department of Defense funds to build a border wall, and it repeals the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.
The final vote was 225-203, with zero Republicans voting for the bill.
In a release, Virginia First District Republican Rob Wittman said:
The bill in its current form could lead to another government shutdown and a return to sequestration. The funding bill that passed the House today is not only irresponsible but has no future in the Senate.