WASHINGTON — The Senate this week passed the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.
The bill will have a big impact on Hampton Roads.
The measure contains $295 million for 14 military construction projects in Virginia.
That list includes major improvements at Naval Station Norfolk, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Dam Neck, Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, and, Langley Air Force Base.
Here's the breakdown:
- $125 million for Submarine Pier 3 at Naval Station Norfolk.
- $47.72 million for a Dry Dock Saltwater System for CVN-78 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
- $26.6 million for a SOF (Special Forces) operations building addition at Dam Neck.
- $19 million for a primary distribution substation at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads.
- $18 million for a commercial vehicle inspection facility at the Pentagon.
- $16.86 million for submarine logistics support facilities at Naval Station Norfolk.
- $10.5 million for Langley AFB for Air Force Reserve construction and land acquisition projects.
- $10.4 million for G/ATOR (Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar) support facilities at Dam Neck.
- $10 million to support research and development of advanced fuels to support future DOD energy requirements. This development would happen at BWXT in Lynchburg, cementing Lynchburg’s leadership as a center for innovation.
- $3.4 million for backup power generation at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads.
- $2.5 million for electrical substation upgrades at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.
- $2.3 million for Child Development Center planning and development at Naval Station Norfolk.
- $1.23 million for Weapons Integration and Test Campus planning and development at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.
- $1.1 million for a secondary cooling system at NCE Springfield at Fort Belvoir.
- $1.1 million for Child Development Center planning and development at Naval Air Station Oceania.
"It's a good bill, pay raises for our military, 4.6%. It's a great bill in terms of military construction, a lot of construction on the Naval Base, but also Langley-Eustis, Belvoir, all over the state," said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia). "I'm the chairman of the readiness subcommittee that deals with military construction, so we battled really hard for military construction projects that are important to keep us safe, but also have a real employment impact on Virginia. So, I'm quite happy about it."
Kaine added that he is pleased that the NDAA overhauls the military justice system for offenses dealing with sexual assault and harassment. He calls those changes "historic."