Peters Secures, Helps Advance Funding to Strengthen National Security and Support Michigan’s Defense Footprint, Including Selfridge, Through Senate Appropriations Defense Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) recently helped the Senate Appropriations Committee pass the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Appropriations Act. This bipartisan legislation would fund a pay increase for servicemembers and high-impact local projects in Michigan that are vital to our national security. The bill now advances to the full Senate. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering their own funding bills. The Senate and House will then need to reach an agreement on a final funding bill and have it pass both chambers before being sent to the President to be signed into law.

“Strengthening Michigan’s defense footprint and our national security is one of my top priorities, and this bill includes a number of priorities that are critical for our national defense – including to support the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base,” said Senator Peters. “As we continue to work on legislation to fund the government, I’ll keep pushing to ensure we have the resources necessary to protect and defend our nation.”

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:

• Funding for Exercise Northern Strike: Would provide $24 million, a record amount, for Exercise Northern Strike, the National Guard Bureau’s largest joint service, multi-component exercise that takes place annually at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), which is comprised of the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center in Northern Michigan. Peters has championed support for Northern Strike, which contributes to our military readiness and enhances our defense capabilities.

• Support for the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base: Peters secured language encouraging the Air Force to adequately support Air National Guard units.

• The first provision directs the Secretary of the Air Force to plan and budget for the recapitalization of Air National Guard units to ensure they are equipped with modern platforms. This type of planning will enable Congress to assess the feasibility of current Air Force planning and budgeting for future combat platforms.

• A second provision directs the Secretary of the Air Force to provide Congress with a report regarding basing criteria of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the unmanned fighter wingman concept the Air Force is developing. This report would include an evaluation of whether existing Air National Guard bases with legacy fighter missions, such as Selfridge, may be appropriate locations for the basing of Collaborative Combat Aircraft. These type of unmanned aircraft are the future of warfare and this report will help Selfridge Air National Guard Base better position itself as an installation that has significant long term value for the Air Force.

• The third provision directs the Air Force to provide a report to Congress on how the service plans to meet combatant command requirements for fighter aircraft given the significant number of airframe divestments which the Air Force would like to conduct over the coming years coupled with declining aircraft procurement numbers.

• Funding for environmental remediation including PFAS cleanup at military and former military bases: Would provide $401 million funding for environmental remediation, including PFAS cleanup that would go toward mitigation at military and former military bases.

• Funding for new ship construction at the Marinette Marine shipyard: Would provide funding for new ship construction, including two Constellation-class frigates to be built at the Marinette Marine shipyard, which is located along the Menominee River and employs hundreds of Michiganders.

• Funding to upgrade High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs): Would provide $47.5 million for the Army to upgrade HMMWVs with anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control systems that will help prevent rollovers, which have claimed the lives of far too many servicemembers. These kits are made in Troy, Michigan and this funding would help support over 150 jobs.

• Funding for National Guard facilities: Would provide more than $1.7 billion in funding for maintenance and upgrades at Army National Guard facilities across the country. Peters also secured language advocating that the National Guard Bureau use a portion of this funding to update installations to ensure that the needs of female servicemembers, such as bathrooms, are being met. This follows on $26 million in funding Peters secured for this type of funding at National Guard armories across Michigan and announced earlier this year.

• Support for Great Lakes Unmanned Undersea Vehicle research: This language encourages the Navy to explore the use of bodies of freshwater to conduct experimentation on unmanned undersea systems. The Great Lakes are the largest bodies of freshwater in the world and can provide a unique testing environment for the Navy to utilize as they mature efforts in this emerging field.

• Funding for advanced combat engines: Would provide $16 million in funding for the continued development of the Advanced Combat Engine. This funding for the ACE program will go towards delivering an engine system to power our next generation of combat vehicles that is more powerful, more fuel-efficient, has less heat signature, greater survivability and is easier to maintain than any other combat engine in the world. Michigan is a world leader in developing vehicle engine technology and this funding will help ensure that we remain at the cutting edge.

• Funding to improve the safety of Stryker vehicles: Would provide $4.2 million for the Army to update Stryker vehicles with driver-assistance technology. This funding would help ensure that Made in Michigan ground vehicles like the Strykers are operating with cutting edge technology designed to keep our troops safe.

• Funding for critical minerals processing: Would provide $10 million for the Department of Defense to continue its work on future-generation materials and manufacturing processes by focusing on delivery of custom ceramic-based materials that could potentially withstand extreme temperatures, extreme corrosion, and stable and long-term electric battery life. This vital research is done by LIFT, a Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute based in Detroit.

• Raising pay for servicemembers: Would provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians.

• Funding for advancements in hydrogen storage technology: Would provide $5 million for the Army to develop solutions for cost effective and field deployment ready hydrogen storage solutions. These innovations will help to create tactical advantages on the battlefield such as, a decrease in thermal and noise signatures during battle as well as electric changing facilitated by fuel cell generators, all while reducing the Army’s carbon footprint.

• Funding for dual-chemistry battery packs: Would provide $5 million for the Army to conduct experimentation on advanced lithium-iron phosphate battery technology, which is far more efficient and safer than traditional battery technology. These new technologies and designs are needed to improve battery safety and enable the benefits of these high-performance batteries to be adopted in critical defense applications.

• Support for C-12 modernization: This language directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to Congress detailing the status of the C-12 fleet and requirements for full modernization of these airframes across the military services. The C-12 is a short-range personnel and cargo lift aircraft utilized by units of the U.S. military, including the Michigan National Guard.

• Funding to support our strategic partnerships with Baltic nations: Would provide funding for the Baltic Security initiative to help strengthen our national security ties with our Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian partners. Latvia has been a State Partner of the Michigan National Guard since 1992 and Michigan Guardsmen recently trained side-by-side with our NATO allies in Latvia.

• Funding for science and technology research: Would provide funding for science and technology including research being done at the Ground Vehicle Systems Center in Detroit.

• Funding to counter the flow of illicit fentanyl: Would provide funding for National Guard counter-drug activities including efforts to counter the flow of illicit fentanyl.

• Funding to counter Chinese government aggression through investments in our national security and strategic partnerships: Would provide funding for efforts in the United States Indo-Pacific Command and Southern Command and Africa Command to counter Chinese government aggression.

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