More than $20.5 million approved for construction at local airbase

The House Appropriations Committee has secured more than $20.5 million in additional funding for new construction at Mountain Home Air Force Base.

In a press release from Congressman Mike Simpson's office, the House committee allocated $20 million for a new logistics readiness center at the base. It also designated an extra $690,000 to cover planning and design costs related to constructing a new base civil engineering maintenance complex.

Simpson, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, secured the funding as part of a final year-end appropriations bill, which funds several federal departments and agencies.

"We owe it to our military men and women to provide facilities that are not only safe and efficient, but are state of the art," the Idaho Congressman said. "The facilities at Mountain Home were built during World War II, and many are condemned. These need to be replaced and this funding will help make this happen."

Earlier this year, Congress designated $14 million in federal stimulus money to replace the base's aging infrastructure. The bill approved by Congress this week provides the base with nearly $21 million in additional funding.

Money designated for a new logistics readiness center on base replaces a condemned, 53-year-old wooden supply warehouse the Congressman's office called "beyond economical repair." Currently, the base runs 60 percent of its supply and logistics functions from temporary offices scattered across the base, creating significant delays in troop and equipment mobilization, according to Simpson.

See the Mountain Home News for the complete story.