WASHINGTON — Towns and military bases in Alabama could receive millions for projects ranging from fire department funding to water system improvements to construction at military bases after the U.S. Senate passed its first funding bills Friday.
Gaining bipartisan support, the Senate passed a funding package to direct money for military construction, the Veterans Affairs Department, the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration. Lawmakers also passed a bill to fund Congressional operations Friday.
“Now, it is critically important that we do our job because, No. 1, it’s what’s best for the American taxpayers,” U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Alabama Daily News in an interview. “It costs them less when we actually work and work on time. A (continuing resolution) absolutely does not work, but importantly, we want to work under President (Donald) Trump’s budget numbers, not under President (Joe) Biden’s.”
Government funding runs out Oct. 1. Congress has a lot of work to do before that deadline and after the August recess to get all 12 funding bills passed. If these first three appropriations bills pass the House and get signed by Trump before Oct. 1, any potential continuing resolution would only have to cover the agencies not covered in the passed bills.
As part of the package, Alabama will receive funding through earmarks, also known as congressionally directed spending. As an appropriator, Britt secured funding for eight projects in the agriculture bill and six in the military construction measure. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., also secured funding for a project in each bill.
Britt said the senator’s team works with communities across Alabama to understand the funding needs of localities.
“It’s a very transparent process, which is excellent because then the American people can see what we’re doing, and there’s accountability there, but we work hard to try to spread that across Alabama as well as we can, year to year,” Britt told ADN.
In the agriculture funding measure, some of the Alabama projects set to receive money include $2.2 million for water system improvements in Samson, $1.2 million for a ladder truck for the Heflin Fire Department and $440,000 for the Pike Road Agricultural Job Development and Career Center.
Tuberville sponsored an amendment along with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, to increase the USDA’s Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account by $1.5 million.
“Everyone deserves access to equal water and wastewater, regardless of their zip code,” Tuberville said in a statement. “Proud to have my amendment to support decentralized wastewater systems pass the Senate. This is a HUGE WIN for Alabama’s entire Black Belt region.”
The Agriculture Department and FDA funding bill provides $27.1 billion in total funding.
Separately, in the House’s agriculture appropriations bill, which has passed out of committee, four Alabama representatives secured money for 16 projects across the state.
The military construction funding measure includes millions for four of Alabama’s military installations. Tuberville sponsored an amendment to the bill that passed Friday to require the Veterans Affairs Department to periodically report on how the department uses staffing models to provide care and benefits to veterans.
“The Trump administration is singularly focused on making sure veterans have timely access to quality care and benefits,” Tuberville said on the Senate floor. “We need to support Secretary Collins and this administration in achieving these core goals for our veterans – not waste our time playing politics.”
The Senate funding bill provides a total of $19.8 billion for military construction projects and $133.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The appropriations bills that cleared the Senate Friday before the August recess were the first to do so since 2018.
Alabama projects in the Senate Agriculture Department and the FDA appropriations bill:
- City of Samson Water System Improvements – $2.2 million (Britt)
- Slocomb Fire Tanker Replacement – $278,000 (Britt)
- Grand Bay Fire District Volunteer Fire Station – $113,000 (Britt)
- Heflin Fire Department Ladder Truck – $1,200,000 (Britt)
- Houston County Radio Tower – $248,000 (Britt)
- Piedmont Fire Engine – $488,000 (Britt)
- Pike Road Agricultural Job Development and Career Center – $440,000 (Tuberville)
- Fyffe Sewer System Improvements – $1.65 million (Britt)
- Winfield Radio Upgrades – $32,000 (Britt)
A breakdown of funding directed to Alabama’s military bases in the military construction measure can be viewed here.