WASHINGTON — Wednesday's vote by the House Armed Services Committee may not only mean Hill Air Force Base does not need to endure another round of base closures so soon — it could also send millions of dollars to Utah for military needs.

The 2005 Defense Authorization Bill, approved 60-0 by the full committee, authorizes funding for a variety of construction projects at Hill, including $4.9 million for an operations and maintenance facility for the 729th Air Control Squadron; $13 million for a munitions storage facility; $13.1 million for a fitness center; $1.81 million for bomb storage igloos; and $1 million for a munitions maintenance facility.

While Hill supporters were anxious the committee would endorse another base realignment and closure (BRAC) round for next year, the bill instead mandates a study about whether it is needed — which would essentially delay the round until 2007.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, a committee member, supported that move, although previously he said merely delaying BRAC would simply defer pain for two years for bases such as Hill as they fight for survival.

"There are some members, including me, who wouldn't mind permanently stopping BRAC all together, and this could be a step in that direction," Bishop said Thursday. "This provision may not hold up through the entire legislative process, and it doesn't necessarily add a strategic advantage to Utah's military installations."

But, he said, "It hopefully sends a message to the Pentagon and the administration that Congress is paying close attention to this process to make sure they follow the law and don't go overboard with cuts."

The measure now goes to the full House. The Bush administration has publicly hoped to close up to 25 percent of current domestic bases, saying savings from that are needed to fund military operations. It said all bases would be fair game and judged on their military importance. Hill is Utah's single largest employer.

Bishop said he also fended off a proposed $80 million cut in the budget for the Minuteman III Propulsion Replacement Program — which likely would have cut jobs at Hill and ATK Thiokol.

"Since strategic missile programs are not in vogue right now with some people, Minuteman modernization became a target. I am pleased that I was able to stop that cut," Bishop said.

"Continuing to modernize our land-based strategic missile fleet is crucial."

Bishop said the committee also killed an amendment seeking a $75 million cut in the Kinetic Energy Interceptor Program.

"Not only would hundreds of Utah jobs have been negatively impacted, but U.S. defense posture would have been harmed," he said.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com