$3 billion for Mississippi. $1 billion locally. Here’s what defense bill means for Coast

Federal lawmakers passed a defense bill Thursday that secured billions of dollars for the nation’s military, and also includes money for several projects on the Mississippi Coast.

The bipartisan bill is awaiting President Biden’s signature. It will bring roughly $3 billion of investment to Mississippi once it becomes law, said Jonathan Bailey, a communications director for Rep. Mike Ezell, who represents South Mississippi and the Pine Belt in Congress.

“It really means jobs that continue to stay supported,” Bailey said Thursday. “Being able to keep that stability means a ton.”

Some of the $3 billion for Mississippi will support projects on the Gulf Coast, all outlined in a press release from Sen. Roger Wicker.

The defense bill authorizes $1 billion in funding for a San Antonio-class warship to be constructed at Huntington Ingalls in Pascagoula. It sets aside $72 million for a berthing barge constructed at Bollinger Shipyards, and will also bring $2 million for the planning and design of a new air traffic control tower at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.

The bill secures money for defense education and research too. The funding will go in part to the University of Southern Mississippi, where the Office of Naval Research will partner to study high-tech electronics related to solar power. And the bill includes $6 million for the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School in Hancock County.

Bailey said the bill also will help support manufacturing on the Coast. Part of the money will go toward purchasing fiberglass parts produced at Seemann Composites in Gulfport, and the bill also directs funds to the Navy to buy from Ocean Aero, an underwater drone company that relocated from California to Gulfport in 2021.

It is unclear how many jobs the funding will bring to the state, but Bailey estimated the investment in Seemann Composites could support about 30 positions.

Some money will also go toward improving housing at Keesler, Bailey said.

“People will have better houses on the base than they did previously,” he said. “Between all the employees, we’re talking about thousands of families that are gonna benefit from this.”

The defense bill passed the House in a 310-118 vote Thursday, overruling protest from far-right legislators, who pushed against abortion, transgender care and racial diversity and inclusion policies at the Pentagon.

But Mississippi legislators praised the bill on Thursday.

“Our bill should signal to China, Russia, and others that we will not accept a world where America does not have the best fighting force,” Wicker said in the press release. “While I would have preferred to send the President a substantially larger proposed investment in our industrial base, he now should approve the monumental investments Congress intends to make in our servicemembers warships, submarines, aircraft, and technology.”

Bailey said the bill affirms the nation’s commitment to defense.

“We have one of the most pro-military states in the country,” he said. “We want to build as much of that as possible in South Mississippi.”