Murray Secures Critical Washington State Wins in 2015 Defense Spending Bill, Including up to $50 million for Elementary School at JBLM

Murray secures up to $50 million to finally rebuild Evergreen Elementary School at JBLM

Bill supports efforts to expand Coast Guard Icebreaker fleet 

Also includes funding for Special Victim Counsels program authored by Senator Murray

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, secured critical federal funding for defense projects in Washington state in the 2015 federal budget.  The 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill, which passed through the full Appropriations Committee today with bipartisan support, was made possible by the bipartisan budget deal that Senator Murray reached last December with U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) that prevented a government shutdown and rolled back devastating cuts from sequestration. 

The bill includes several significant wins for Washington state including up to $50 million in federal funding to rebuild Evergreen Elementary school at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), and language supporting the Seattle-based U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker fleet.

The $50 million reserved for construction of a new campus Evergreen Elementary School comes through the Office of Economic Adjustment Public School Recapitalization program, which has supported extensive previous school construction efforts at JBLM, investing more than $100 million in previous for similar construction projects at Hillside Elementary School, Carter Lake Elementary School, Beachwood Elementary School, and Clarkmoor Elementary School.

The $50 million figure represents the Department of Defense’s 80% cost-share of the school’s estimated total construction cost.  The remaining 20% will be provided by state and local funding and administered by the State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

And, as a leading advocate in the Senate for military victims of sexual assault, Senator Murray also secured funding to ensure that every victim of sexual assault, regardless of branch of service, will have a specially trained military lawyer to advocate for them.  Legislation authored by Senator Murray and passed in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act created the requirement for these programs in each military service branch.

“The investments made in this bill will help continue our state’s proud military tradition,” Senator Patty Murray said.  “I was proud to fight to ensure military installations across Washington state have the resources they need to stay strong and up-to-date.  

“I was proud to fight for funding for Evergreen Elementary School at JBLM, because when our best and our brightest put on the uniform to serve our country honorably, we make a promise to support them and their families both on and off the battlefield.  This includes making sure their children have an adequate learning environment that promotes a positive education experience. Our schools that support our military communities are not only institutions of learning, but also serve as a support system for many of our military families.

“I was also proud to fight for funding for Special Victims Counsels for each branch of the military. This funding gets to the heart of addressing the tragic epidemic of sexual assault in our military.  While this funding is a great step forward, there is more work to do and I will continue fighting on behalf of our nation’s heroes of the past, present, and future.”

A list of funding for defense projects and programs secured by Senator Murray below:

• $50 million in federal funding to rebuild Evergreen Elementary school on Joint Base Lewis-McChord through the Office of Economic Adjustment Public School Recapitalization program.
• $25 million in funding to support Special Victims Counsels (SVC) programs in each branch of the military.  These funds will ensure that every victim of sexual assault, regardless of branch of service, will have a specially trained military lawyer to advocate for them.  Legislation authored by Senator Murray and passed in the 2014 NDAA created the requirement for SVC programs in each military service.
• Language requiring the Navy to work with the Coast Guard to develop a plan to expand icebreaker capacity. In the 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations bill Murray secured $8 million in federal funding for the polar icebreaker USCGC Polar Sea. U.S. Coast Guard Base Seattle is home to the nation’s icebreaking fleet.