Panel OKs $100M for Utah bases

Senate appropriators have endorsed spending $100 million to upgrade military bases in Utah.

The Senate Appropriations Committee included the money Thursday in its annual appropriations bill for military construction, military quality of life and veterans affairs. The measure now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

The bill included $63.5 million for Hill Air Force Base.

Among projects to be funded for the base were $26 million for a facility to overhaul and test F/A-22 aircraft; $20 million for a Software Support Facility (Hill develops, tests and maintains software and related hardware for numerous weapons systems); $10 million to replace two warehouses built in the 1940s; and $7.4 million for an Armament Overhaul Facility.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, "As Hill remains a key asset in our military, it's critical that we maintain its facilities and base operations at the safest and most efficient level."

Also included in the bill was $20 million for new barracks at Camp Williams, and $14.4 million for the final phase of a new 11,000-foot runway at the Michael Army Airfield at Dugway Proving Ground.