Rep. Mike Levin Secures $152.5 Million in Authorizations for Camp Pendleton Construction Projects in Bipartisan NDAA
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, including authorizations Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) successfully secured totaling $152.5 million for construction projects at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The NDAA also includes provisions Rep. Levin supported to increase pay for troops and expand housing, health care, and legal benefits for veterans.
For Camp Pendleton, the bipartisan NDAA includes authorizations of $25.2 million for a combat water survival training facility, $21.8 million for warehouse consolidation and modernization, $68.5 million for the 1st MARDIV operations complex, and $37 million for the I MEF Consolidated Interim Storage Center. These projects will require additional appropriations by Congress, but the authorizations are a key step in advancing the projects.
“One of my top priorities in Congress is advocating on behalf of the servicemembers who serve at Camp Pendleton and the veterans who call our District home,” said Rep. Levin. “I’m proud that the NDAA includes critical funding I fought for to ensure the Marines and Sailors at Camp Pendleton have the facilities they need to maintain readiness and fulfill their mission. I am also pleased that the NDAA includes bills I supported to expand housing, health care, and legal benefits for veterans. I am disappointed that the President has threatened to veto the bill over provisions to replace outdated and offensive names of military installations, but I am optimistic that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will recognize the importance of passing this bill into law and providing troops with the pay raise, bonuses, and increased hazard pay they deserve.”
Other priorities Rep. Levin supported:
- An amendment Rep. Levin cosponsored to expand the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program to veterans with Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharges.
- An amendment Rep. Levin fought to retain to add Parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism to the list of diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents and mandate that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and later diagnosed with one of these diseases.
- A requirement that VA facilitate the provision of pro bono legal assistance services to veterans and the surviving spouses and children of deceased veterans, at no fewer than one VA medical center in each state, at least three times annually. This is similar to a provision in Rep. Levin’s DELIVER Act.
- A requirement that VA establish a 5-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of awarding grants to create new and enhance existing legal assistance clinics to provide year-round pro bono legal assistance to all veterans at locations other than medical centers. This is similar to a provision in Rep. Levin’s DELIVER Act.
- An authorization for VA to provide a veteran’s newborn child more than 7 days of health care services and the transportation necessary to receive such services if the child requires additional medical care. This is similar to a provision in H.R. 3224, the Deborah Sampson Act.
- A requirement that VA and the Department of Defense jointly develop, implement, and maintain a standard of coordinated care for members of the Armed Forces who are survivors of sexual trauma.
Click here to download a fact sheet from the Speaker’s office on the NDAA.
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