Senator Murray: “Whatever the threat to Washington families—from COVID, to natural disasters, to conflict abroad—our national guard is always among the first to the frontlines, and we owe it to them to make sure they can do that work and be as prepared as possible.”
***PHOTOS OF THE EVENT HERE***
(Tacoma, WA) – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited Camp Murray and met with Washington State National Guard in Tacoma after securing $27 million for the construction of a 71,000 square foot Air Support Operations Group Complex to support the current missions of the 194th Air Support Operations Group (ASOG). The funding for this construction will bring together three units in order to leverage training resources so they can train like they fight when deployed.
During the visit, Senator Murray reiterated her commitment to ensure military bases like Camp Murray receive the federal support they need to train effectively so they can get, and stay, mission ready.
“Whatever the threat to Washington families—from COVID, to natural disasters, to conflict abroad—our national guard is always among the first to the frontlines, and we owe it to them to make sure they can do that work and be as prepared as possible. That starts with making sure they have modern facilities that allow them to train effectively so they can get, and stay, mission ready. Which is why I fought so hard to secure direct funding for the new complex for the Air National Guard,” said Senator Murray.
“I’ve heard from the officials here at Camp Murray about how important this would be. And as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, it’s my job to make sure their voices were heard in the other Washington too. I know our state better than any well-meaning bureaucrat in DC, and congressionally-directed spending like this is an important tool for me to make sure the priorities of our communities here in Washington state—and here at Camp Murray—are the federal government’s priorities too.”
The daughter of a World War II veteran and also a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Murray has been a longtime advocate for military servicemembers and their families. In September, she helped to secure more than $15 million in federal awards for infrastructure projects benefiting local military installations that provide support to service members, their families, and defense efforts. In December, Senator Murray helped pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA). Senator Murray championed measures in last year’s NDAA to support quality of life improvements for servicemembers and their families, such as a 2.7% pay raise for military servicemembers, 12 weeks of parental leave for servicemembers, establishing a Basic Needs Allowance for servicemembers, and inclusion of provisions from the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act to address sexual assault in the military.
As the second ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray has been instrumental in securing federal investments for projects across Washington state. Overall, Senator Murray secured more than $116 million in direct funding for local community projects across Washington state. A full list of local projects in Washington state that Murray secured funding for can be found HERE.
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