Source: United States Senator for Alabama Richard Shelby
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its subcommittee on defense, today voted to pass a comprehensive appropriations package containing all 12 Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) spending bills, which includes significant funding investments for the Mobile area. The legislation was passed in the Senate by a vote of XX-XX. The package was passed by the House of Representatives Wednesday and will now be sent to the President’s desk for his signature. The legislation contains a total of $1.146 billion in funding for the Mobile area.
“Throughout every appropriations process, I have worked diligently to create the conditions for growth and success throughout the state of Alabama, and that certainly includes Mobile,” said Senator Shelby. “I am very proud to announce that this package includes more than $1 billion in funding for the Mobile area, with $300 million for improvements to the Port and the airport. This is great news for our Gulf Coast. South Alabama stands to benefit immensely from these investments. Mobile has a lot of potential, and this funding will improve upon its existing infrastructure to transform our coast and the entire state.”
The package contains the following provisions impacting the Mobile area:
Port of Mobile and Mobile Downtown Airport:
- $100 million for improvements to the Mobile Downtown Airport, including funding to purchase land, conduct surveys, and renovate and relocate on–site facilities.
- $132.7 million for improvements to the Port of Mobile, including for the design and construction of docks, wharves, and piers, as well as for land acquisition and site development.
- $67.3 million for freight and intermodal rail infrastructure improvements at the Port of Mobile and the Montgomery inland intermodal transfer facility.
Army Corps of Engineers:
- $65 million to support dredging of the Port of Mobile and multiple inland and intercostal waterways throughout the state of Alabama.
- $50 million for the operations and maintenance of Donor and Energy Transfer Ports, which benefits the Port of Mobile.
- Includes language to encourage the Army Corps of Engineers to examine beneficial uses of dredged material in Mobile Bay.
Shipbuilding:
- $330 million for one additional Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS). The EMS or “hospital ship,” includes an intensive care unit and other healthcare accommodations, while maintaining most of the original mission requirements.
- $260 million for one additional Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF).
University of South Alabama Medical Science Building:
- $60 million for construction of a medical science building at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
U.S. Coast Guard:
- $67 million for the Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter program.
- $6 million for Cyber Compliance Upgrades to Critical Training Center Simulators and Trainers, including Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama.
Fisheries:
- $5 million to ensure successful implementation of NOAA’s “Reef Fish Amendment 50,” which delegates the federal management of red snapper to the Gulf Coast states, including language delaying state specific recalibration until 2023.
- $3 million to support implementation of electronic logbooks for federally permitted Gulf Coast charter-fishermen.
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