WASHINGTON, DC – Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ Military Council, chaired by former Lieutenant Governor John Moore, today voted in Topeka to support Senator Pat Roberts’ efforts to restore vital military construction funding to Ft. Riley and Ft. Leavenworth at a time when both military posts are getting new missions.

Roberts, along with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), Kansas’s U.S. Congressmen Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), strongly oppose action by the House last week to cut $3.1 billion in funding for construction associated with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, which put many key projects in the state at risk. The Senate will take up military construction funding next week.

"Kansas won significant increases in personnel and missions as a result of BRAC, and now the troops and their families are coming to work on the missions and much of the key funding is at risk; that’s just not right," Roberts said. "I appreciate the Governor’s Military Council’s support on this issue and former Lieutenant Governor John Moore’s continued leadership on behalf of our state’s military."

"I spoke with Ft. Riley’s Commanding General Carter Hamm this afternoon and he stressed that the number one concern involves the funds for the aviation brigade barracks, which are now at risk. Without this construction money, the brigade returning from Iraq in Summer 2008 will be living in worse conditions than they did in Iraq," Roberts said. "This is totally unacceptable. We cannot ask our soldiers who have just returned from deployment to sacrifice even more for our nation by not giving them the facilities and support they need."

"If we fail to fully fund current military construction projects, soldiers from Fort Riley’s Big Red One—who will soon deploy to Iraq—will not have adequate housing when they return," Senator Sam Brownback said. "I will continue to fight on the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee to fully fund projects at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth that House Democrats have taken away from our troops."

"It is unfortunate the Democrat Continuing Resolution forced this problem upon the men and women of our Kansas military families," Congressman Todd Tiahrt said.

"Kansas communities, state officials and the Congressional delegation worked hard and the result of the BRAC decision was the best news for Kansas in years," Congressman Jerry Moran said. "The funding bill passed by the House last week puts that success in jeopardy."

The following projects are at risk:

• A $152 million Combat Aviation Brigade Complex, the construction of which includes 624 of the required 936 barracks spaces the Combat Aviation Brigade needs to house its soldiers. It also includes 2 Battalion Headquarters buildings, 15 of the 29 needed Company Operations Buildings, 1 of the 3 necessary hangers the Combat Aviation Brigade needs, parking and fueling aprons, an Aviation Operations building, and a crash rescue fire station. Simply put, there is no way the Combat Aviation Brigade can realistically be stationed at Fort Riley, as has been mandated, if this project is not funded. The brigade would come home from serving in Iraq to find temporary makeshift facilities that would have to be worked around eventual construction for their needs in future years when funding is finally available.

"It is absolutely unacceptable to ask these soldiers in live and work in such a manner after sacrificing for our country in Iraq," Roberts said.

• Fort Riley could also lose $17 million for Runway Improvements that is necessary to replace the destroyed concrete of the runway and taxiway used by the same Combat Aviation Brigade whose entire complex is at risk. 
• Fort Riley could also lose an $87 million Division Headquarters and Sustainment Brigade Headquarters which includes two vehicle maintenance facilities, two company operations facility buildings, a band training facility, two battalion headquarters, and the Sustainment Brigade Headquarters. If this funding is not awarded, the bed down area will not be completed by the time the Sustainment Brigade returns from their current deployment. As a result, the Sustainment Brigade would be required to use modular buildings at significantly less than half their allowed space.
• Fort Riley could also lose a $27 million Battle Command Training Center which consists of a state of the art training facility that prepares our troops for action they will see in the field. This high tech center is necessary for the training of the command, control, and communication functions that are critical to the training of brigade and division staffs.
  
• Fort Riley could also lose a $17.5 million Health and Dental Clinic that is desperately needed to serve the thousands of troops and their families that are moving to Fort Riley as a result of BRAC. This, too, is indispensable to the welfare and morale of troops who either have been or are returning from deployment. We must ensure we care for them and their families as part of our commitment to those who voluntarily serve our country.
  
• Fort Riley could also lose a $5.7 million Child Development Center that will provide care for 198 children of military men and women. This facility will only partially meet the shortfall Fort Riley is experiencing as a result of the thousands of incoming troops as a result of the BRAC process. As the soldier population increases, so does the number of military families that require child care services. This is a critical quality of life issue that is absolutely vital to ensuring that our nation’s military can be deployed knowing their families are cared for while they are gone. We have promised this much, if not more, to those dedicated to serving our nation.
• Fort Leavenworth could lose funding for a $68 million Joint Regional Corrections Facility. This is truly a dire situation, in that the facility was underfunded to begin with. Estimated at $68 million, it will actually cost a bare minimum of $95 million to build the facility that the Army will use to move prisoners from their current locations to Fort Leavenworth. If this facility is not constructed, there will simply be no place for these prisoners to go.

Roberts rejects claims by some that funding for these projects is not at risk because the Pentagon can fund those projects it deems most important either through the reduced funds it is receiving through the Continuing Resolution or through another legislative measure.

Senator Roberts and Senator Brownback are working with several Senate colleagues including Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to restore the $3.1 billion needed for BRAC and will fight this effort on the Senate floor when debate begins next week.