Brown Meets with Wright-Patterson Commander as Army Awards Contract for Base Construction Project to Dayton Developer

Brown Helped Secure Authorization, Funding for Project in FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) met with Col. Bradley McDonald, Commander of the 88th Air Base Wing to discuss his continued efforts to support servicemembers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a $9,115,000 contract for Messer Construction in Dayton to design and construct a relocation of the entry control point at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Brown helped secure funding for the project in the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill.

“The important work done at Wright-Patterson to keep Ohioans and Americans safe is also vital to southwest Ohio’s economy,” said Brown. “Investments like this one help our servicemen and women at Wright-Patterson while directly benefitting local workers and companies.”

Brown and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) secured the authorization of construction and research projects at Wright-Patterson in the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA authorized $12.6 million to consolidate the operations of two active Entry Control Points (ECPs) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). This consolidation would improve security and traffic flow at the base. The NDAA also authorizes $14.4 million for facilities upgrades, equipment installation, and other projects that increase energy efficiency and approximately $1.1 billion for Air Force Research and Development projects and programs run out of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at WPAFB.

In August 2015, Brown urged then-U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James to include funding for this project in the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget and, in March 2016, he wrote to the Senate Armed Service Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee supporting the gate consolidation.

In March, Brown, as co-chair of the Senate Air Force Caucus, brought his Republican caucus co-chair John Boozman (R-AR), Armed Services Committee Members Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Portman to visit Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and tour the facility.

In January, Brown convened a roundtable at the University of Dayton Research Institute to discuss investments he helped secure for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), including federal funds authorized for base upgrades and research programs. Brown was joined by WPAFB officials, the Dayton Development Coalition, representatives from Sinclair Community College’s workforce development department, and local companies and researchers who have collaborated with the base.

Brown, in meetings to outline Ohio military priorities, has invited both U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to visit Wright-Patt.

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