Naval Base Kitsap Could Recoup Millions in Funding Previously Diverted for Border Wall
A pier construction project at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor would recoup millions in funding it lost to former President Trump’s signature border wall under a Biden administration plan announced June 11.
President Biden suspended construction of the border wall shortly after his inauguration, and while the proposed plan does not cancel the project entirely, it would return more than $2 billion diverted from the Pentagon.
In September 2019, the Department of Defense diverted $89 million meant for NBKB along with funding for 100 other military construction projects. The project at NBKB would build a pier for the Maritime Force Protection Unit, which protects submarines on the way to and from the base.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and 6th District Rep. Derek Kilmer, also a Democrat, praised the Biden administrations’ plan in a joint statement Tuesday, saying the funding is critical not only to national security but to spur local economic growth in Washington.
By: Abbie Shull
Source: The News Tribune