Rep. Murphy votes "yes" on 2023 NDAA, will bring $190 million to ENC military bases
Eastern North Carolina military bases will soon see big improvements, as Rep. Greg Murphy M.D. (R-NC) voted "yes" on final passage of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The bipartisan defense bill, passed on Dec. 8, authorizes $858 billion in national defense discretionary programs, $190 million of which will go to military construction projects at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Marine Corps Air Station New River and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, according to a news release from Murphy's office.
Murphy said in the release that this year's NDAA is full of fantastic victories for this military-heavy district.
"Our district is unique in that we’ve got three major military bases and the sixth-most veterans of any congressional district in the country," Murphy told The Daily News in an email. "I want our service members and veterans to know that we support them, and as a member of congress, I am deeply committed to delivering major policy wins that protect our troops and strengthen our national defense."
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Murphy said the NDAA is a carefully thought-out piece of defense legislation that he and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been working for the past year.
The release said the NDAA not only fully funds the national defense and authorizes the $190 million for ENC military bases, but it also includes a 4.6% pay increase for the troops, repeals the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members, includes $500 million for additional housing allowances and includes $250 million for military commissaries.
Murphy added both the additional housing allowances and military commissaries are essential during a time of record inflation.
Murphy said he's also relieved the vaccine mandate has been repealed, saying the Department of Defense has discharged 3,300 Marines, 1,800 soldiers, 1,800 sailors and 900 airmen for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, he added they must go further to reenlist those who were discharged and hold the Biden Administration accountable for "this damaging, politically-targeted ploy at the expense of America’s finest warfighters."
“Our military and veteran community is a pillar of who we are in Eastern North Carolina, and I will always fight to ensure our U.S. Armed Forces have the resources they need to defend our great nation," Murphy said in the release. "I am confident that the NDAA will help protect our valiant service members, deter our adversaries and ultimately strengthen our national defense."
The breakdown of the funds, the release said, includes $47.8 million for a regional communications station at Hadnot Point, Camp Lejeune, $6.6 million for school modernization planning and design at Camp Lejeune, $21 million for an aircraft maintenance hangar at Cherry Point, $38.4 million for a CH-53K gearbox repair and test facility at Cherry Point, $58 million for phase two of the F-35 flightline utility modernization at Cherry Point and $21 million for a three-module type II hangar at New River.
"It’s important to look at the big picture," Murphy said. "The military base community is not just composed of service members, but their families, contractors, veterans and a myriad of other stakeholders. Take our three ENC military bases for example. All together, they make up a total economic impact of nearly $4 billion. Passing this bill and the many wins within it will have a positive economic impact on the entire community."
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@jdnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: $190 million coming to Eastern North Carolina military bases. Here's what we know
