Washington, D.C. — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Congressman Michael R. McNulty (D-Green Island) and Susan E. Savage (D), Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature, today announced that the new Navy Reserve Center to be built at the Schenectady County Airport is fully funded in the president’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006.
“I am thrilled that the Stratton Air National Guard base is finally getting the attention and funds it deserves to build a Navy Reserve Center. This center is vital for both the upstate economy and national security,” Senator Clinton said. “I will work very hard to be sure that these funds remain in the FY ’06 Budget and are allocated to the Glenville facility so they can start building the Navy Reserve Center as soon as possible.”
“The Navy Reserve Center is budgeted at $19.97 million – the second largest military construction project in New York State, next to Ford Drum,” said Congressman McNulty. “This project is not only important to national security, but it is also critical to our efforts to retain missions and jobs at the Stratton Air National Guard base.”
Schenectady County leaders thanked Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congressman Mike McNulty for their help in securing funding for the Navy Reserve Project.
“We have asked Senator Clinton as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to help us protect this funding as the Senate begins consideration of the military construction budget just as we are asking Congressman McNulty to help us, as he always does, as the House reviews the President’s budget,” said Savage.
Clinton and McNulty stressed that they would work to ensure that this project remains fully funded as the FY 2006 Military Construction appropriations bill makes its way through Congress and to the president’s desk.
“The Navy Reserve Center is expected to create 40 new jobs in Glenville, and the facility will host over 400 reserve and guard troops who will train at the facility on a regular basis generating additional economic activity for Schenectady County,” Savage said.
The new facility will be built on county-owned land directly across from the runway at the Stratton Air National Guard Base. As the Pentagon prepares to issue recommendations in May on a new list of base closures, emphasis has been placed on retaining bases that handle multiple missions for different branches of the armed forces. As a result, the new Navy Reserve Center is an integral part of the effort to retain 1,400 jobs and $100 million in economic impact generated by the Stratton Air Guard base annually.
If approved by Congress, the Navy Reserve facility will be built in 2006. Plans and specifications for the project are currently under development, and the Navy expects to issue a design/build contract to streamline the construction schedule.