Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) secured $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) in this year’s defense budget. This funding will address military infrastructure needs to support military families and follows a letter she led with 28 of her Congressional colleagues to the Defense Department earlier this year.
“The 10th Congressional District of Washington is home to Joint Base Lewis McChord, one of the largest employers in the state, and is home to many service members, their families, and veterans. Funding the Defense Community Infrastructure Program uplifts our entire community,” said Strickland. “I look forward to long term support of this program so we can sustain an excellent quality of life for our service members and the community at large.”
The full letter text can be found below and here.
Dear Chair McCollum and Ranking Member Calvert,
We write to respectfully request that you include $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) in the Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Appropriations bill. DCIP is of vital importance to the well-being of our national security infrastructure and the welfare of our servicemembers and their families. It will also help communities emerge from the coronavirus pandemic by investing in important infrastructure needs.
DCIP is designed to help address deficiencies in the infrastructure near military installations. These projects support service members and their families, support readiness, and improve security. They also enhance the military value, resilience, or military family quality of life at installations.
In 2019, Congress created DCIP to assist state and local governments in addressing shortfalls in community infrastructure projects surrounding military installations. In FY2020, DCIP was appropriated $50 million and in its first year, it received 109 proposals and awarded 16 grants. In FY21, DCIP was appropriated $60 million and in FY22, DCIP was appropriated $90 million. The number of proposals and significant interest in the program highlight the need for robust funding for this program.
The awards included proposals for infrastructure upgrades, community centers, facility upgrades for school districts, and early childhood centers throughout the country. Investing in the communities around military bases is the right thing to do for military families and for national security. Therefore, we urge you to include $100 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program in the FY23 Defense Appropriations bill.
This letter was signed by Representatives Marilyn Strickland, Nanette Barragán, Donald Beyer Jr., Anthony Brown, Cheri Bustos, Salud Carbajal, Joe Courtney, Tony Cárdenas, Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar, John Garamendi, Steven Horsford, Kaiali’i Kahele, William Keating, Andy Kim, Rick Larsen, Mike Levin, Frank Lucas, Elaine Luria, A. Donald McEachin, Barry Moore, Seth Moulton, Richard Neal, Cathy McMorris Rogers, Gregorio Sablan, John Sarbanes, Robert Scott, Christopher Smith, Mark Takano.
U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and is the only African-American woman who serves on the House Armed Services Committee. She is a member of the New Democrat Coalition, is one of the first Korean-American women elected to Congress and is the first African-American elected to represent the Pacific Northwest at the federal level.
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